


Re:A Ripple in the Abyss

by Twilight_PhoenixFyre



Series: Before the Guardians [1]
Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: F/M, World-hopping, semi-self-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2018-08-22 05:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 56,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8274541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight_PhoenixFyre/pseuds/Twilight_PhoenixFyre
Summary: It was a normal day. Evening, really. She hadn't expected anything to happen. She certainly hadn't expected THIS to happen. But now she's here on Auldrant, so all she can do is go with the flow.
Especially since she's finding things that really, really aren't adding up. Which means she's also messing things up, well before the game events start.
"It's like throwing a rock into a pond. Every ripple distorts the surface. And... every life I've touched... Just another rock thrown in. We've made the waters turbulent... Muddied them up.""Not necessarily a bad thing.""Not necessarily a good thing, either."





	1. Chapter 1.1 - Arrival in Keterburg

**Author's Note:**

> So. I'm currently working on posting Book 3 of this series on FanFiction.net, which means I've got some serious catching up to do to get everything posted over here. Especially since I know I need to go back through and take yet another fine-toothed comb to this story for grammar reasons. Should be able to update regularly since all I need to do is re-read everything for grammar errors, though.
> 
> Note that the quote in the summary is from almost 100k words into Book 3.
> 
> Also, chapter formatting. The text in italics at the top is a quote(s) from the chapter, and there's a little added note at the bottom, typically of an almost trivia type, but some are less trivia and more me complaining about my characters. Regardless...
> 
> Enjoy!

_Why I was going after a drink with that much sugar and caffeine at nine at night, and on a Wednesday, no less, was beyond my brain's capacity for reason at that point. -Kairi  
_

* * *

**Chapter 1.1 – Arrival in Keterburg  
Part 1**

I huffed in frustration as I sat the empty bottle down, not wanting to get up to get another. Yes, I was motivated. More motivated than I had been for weeks. I really felt sorry for my readers, even though no one had reviewed in a while. So, I was typing. Fifty-eight words per minute was my average, but I think I was doing about sixty-seven, had been all night.

Vampires 2 – Neo Domino City was almost finished. I was so close, already at Chapter 27, with two more chapters to write and the Epilogue down on paper. But, I had gotten stuck, until inspiration came along in the form of my friend Rabecah getting her hands on two Monster energy drinks, one of which she gave to me.

Really, I felt sorry for Sarah. When the two of us are hyper, we can be very (very) dangerous. But therein we find the source of my inspiration. Of course, I was still a little wound up, even at nine o'clock at night, which was why I was typing so fast. That thought prompted me to pause and read over what I had written, resulting in a grin crossing my face. I hadn't been able to write anything good for so long, and this… this was just wonderful, comparatively.

Deciding to take a break, I stood and headed for the small refrigerator in the hallway, hoping that Richard had remembered to bring home a Mountain Dew, although why I was going after a drink with that much sugar and caffeine at nine at night, and on a Wednesday, no less, was beyond my brain's capacity for reason at that point. And so, after finding the object of my search and calling a 'thank you' toward the living room, where I could see the white-haired man responsible for the soda's presence sprawled out on the couch, I returned to my room, slipping my legs under the rickety table that held my laptop carefully.

I know I didn't fall asleep, or at least, I'm almost certain that I didn't. And it certainly didn't happen in a flash of light. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened, because one minute, I'm semi-warm in my room, and the next thing that I consciously register is sitting in a snow drift. Really, the only thing I know for certain is that my first and only thought at that point was this:

'What the hell am I doing in a fucking snow drift?!'

That thought was followed by some loud cursing, which, for the sake of those of you who don't want to read a bunch of profanity, I will not write here.

Mind you, I was wearing a black tank top under a polo made of a rather thin material, black dress slacks, and zip-nada-zilch on my feet. I had every reason to be cursing, seeing as how I was practically turning into a popsicle!

As soon as the shock from my sudden situation wore off, I was pulling myself to my feet, rubbing my arms and walking back and forth on the blessedly not-snow-covered road nearby, doing everything I could have possibly done at that point to keep myself at least partly warm.

In the meantime, I was cursing at every god, goddess, and deity I could think of, including, ironically, Lorelei. Where was the irony in that, you may ask? Well, let's see…

"Oh my! You look like you're half frozen!" a voice cried from behind me. I looked over my shoulder as the woman continued. "Oh, are those clothes warm at all? And where are your shoes?!" The familiar face, honey-blonde hair, and warm, topaz eyes all swam in my vision, but where…?

I was too busy shivering to focus on that at the very moment, and my teeth were chattering despite all of my efforts as I replied, my voice heavily laced with sarcasm despite the fact that I would probably be suffering from hypothermia and frostbite soon. "Half-frozen, completely lost, and absolutely no idea how I got here? Oh no, this situation looks absolutely wonderful," I grumbled. The woman wrapped an arm around me and began leading me along the road, back the way she had come, and I finally realized not only where I was, but who was now rubbing my arms to keep me a little warmer.

Shit…

"Come with me, I'll get you some warmer clothes," Nephry said, though I wouldn't have argued with her anyway. I sighed, and she seemed to realize that she hadn't told me her name yet. And, while I technically didn't need it, I really, _really,_ did not want to explain to her that I was from a different world. "I'm Nephry Osborne," she stated.

"I'm a Kairi-sicle," I replied, sarcasm still dripping from my words. Nephry giggled a bit.

"That's alright. Let's just get you to my home, and then you can warm up," she said. "It's not far now."

Well, to be truthful, Nephry was right. It wasn't that far out from where we had been at that point, and I was genuinely grateful that the mansion was warm. Unfortunately, as my brain began to thaw out, I was confronted with the problem of what to tell her. I couldn't tell her the truth, she'd throw me back out onto the street without caring if I froze or not. But then, what was I going to say?

"So, what's your name again?" Nephry asked as she returned from wherever she had run off to with a bundle of clothes in her arms. I was wrapped up in a blanket and sitting as close to the fire as I dared.

"Kairi," I replied simply, my mind going into what I liked to call overdrive as it began to concoct a likely story.

"No family name, Kairi?" Nephry inquired. I shook my head.

"No, and no family either. Or at least, none that are alive," I said. That was a part of my lie. Well, really, so was my name, but there was no way in hell I was telling her my real name. I hated that enough already.

Nephry had grown quiet, but when she did speak, her words surprised me. "There's an empty guest room right up the stairs, on the left. You're welcome to stay here for a while, if you have nowhere else to go," she told me. I stared at her, my mouth hanging open slightly in shock, before smiling softly.

"Thank you," I said quietly. Nephry held out the clothes she had been carrying.

"Here. I figured your clothes would be wet by the time you warmed up, so I dug these out for you. I hope they'll fit," she commented. I stood slowly and left the blanket by the fire to let it dry out again.

"I'll go try them on. It'll be nice to get out of these wet clothes," I told her. She smiled and handed over the clothes as I walked past her to head up the stairs. She had said the empty room was on the left, right?

It didn't take me long to find the room in question, and I sat the clothes on the bed before peeling off the well-soaked polo, carefully draping it over the wooden footboard, since I didn't want to drop it on the carpeted floor, nor throw it onto the bed. Then, after doing the same with my pants, I looked through the pile of clothing, grateful that Nephry had included underwear as I changed.

Okay, so the dress didn't fit me perfectly. It was probably meant to hang just above my knees, but it stopped about mid-thigh. It had long sleeves and a turtleneck, and the blue fabric was probably fleece, or something similar, because it felt like one of my favorite turtleneck sweaters.

I took the chance to look in a mirror and raised an eyebrow. Where had my glasses gone?

After taking a moment to make sure that I really wasn't wearing any kind of corrective lenses (which was not fun, seeing as how I refuse contacts simply because I hate poking my fingers in my eyes), I shrugged and let it go. One less thing to hinder me was always a good thing.

Leaving the room with my wet clothes bundled up in my hand, I headed back down the stairs, and Nephry pointed to a wicker basket. "Put those in there with the blanket. I'll have the maids wash them," she prompted. I smiled and nodded, dropping the bundle into the aforementioned basket without complaint before returning to where I had been sitting next to the fire.

"You look nice in that. It fits alright?" Nephry asked as I made myself comfortable. I shrugged.

"It's just a bit small, I think, but it fits well enough," I told her, going over the story I had concocted one last time. I had a feeling she was going to ask, and my feelings generally aren't wrong.

"You wouldn't mind telling me a bit about yourself then, would you?" Nephry wondered. I smiled wryly as the two little voices in my head reacted to the question, one groaning while the other did a victory dance and said 'I told you so'.

"Not much to tell. Mother and I were survivors of Hod, but she refused to settle down, roaming from place to place. Nomads, she called us. The only life I ever knew, really," I said quietly, as if lost in thought (which I kinda was). "No idea how I ended up in Keterburg, though. I don't have any cold-weather clothes, and my last pair of shoes were worn through, so I wasn't planning on coming here any time soon. Honestly, the last place I remember being was… hmm, somewhere in Southern Rugnica."

Then, after putting on a frown, I growled, though Nephry either didn't notice, or she ignored it, as she began speaking.

"That explains the way you were dressed. Southern Rugnica would be plenty warm for the clothing you were wearing," she commented. "Though, do I want to know what has you so frustrated all of a sudden?" Ah, so the latter, for a moment there at least.

I sighed. "There was a group of bandits in that area, and they've probably run off with my weapons and bags by now," I told her, having planned that part out rather simply, while I was still pulling on the borrowed clothes. Nephry looked thoughtful.

"I can tell that you obviously have no love of the cold, and you seem to be an honest young woman. I don't want to keep you here in Keterburg for any longer than you want to stay here, so if you need anything, please tell me," Nephry said, surprising me once again as my mouth hung open for the second time that night.

"Oh, I couldn't!" I told her, my true nature (aka, my hatred of charity) kicking in without any prompting. Nephry smiled sadly and giggled.

"It's not a problem at all, if you're wondering. It's just me here in this mansion with the maids, and the massive fortune my husband left behind. I might as well put that money towards something useful, or in this case, give it to someone who needs it more than I," she replied. I sat there, continuing to emulate a fish for some time, before I finally just close my mouth and smiled.

"Thank you, Nephry," I said quietly. Nephry looked up at a clock on the far wall and frowned.

"I'm going to go tell the cook that you'll be eating with me tonight. You're welcome to look around a bit in the meantime," she offered as she stood to leave. I smiled and shrugged.

"I'll probably still be here when you get back," I replied. Nephry just laughed and walked off, while I looked around me from my position on the floor. A bookshelf caught my eye from the far corner, and I stood and wandered over to it, skimming over the titles and attempting to translate them. Sure, I had copied the alphabet down before, and even gone so far as to write a few coded messages to myself in it, but my translating abilities were certainly… dismal.

Nephry came in to find me frowning over a book I was fairly certain had the word 'fonology' in its title.

"That's one of the books my brother left behind on fonic artes. I honestly wouldn't have expected you to pick it up," she confessed. I looked over my shoulder at her and shrugged before turning back to the book. Fonic artes, huh? Might be useful…

"This would certainly be easier to read if I knew my letters a little better," I muttered. Nephry stopped halfway to the chair she had been about to return to and looked at me in shock.

"You mean you can't read?!" she asked, horrified. I made a face.

"Oh, I can read fine, I'm just not used to reading the fonic alphabet. My mother taught me a different alphabet that was passed down through our family, and I can read and write in that perfectly, but she barely had any time to teach me the fonic alphabet before…" I trailed off, gazing off sadly as I suddenly realized that my family would be worried sick about me soon. My dad didn't need that, not with the condition he had been in…

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Nephry started, her sentence left unfinished. "Then, do you know the entire alphabet?" she asked. I frowned.

"Could you write it down for me, in order? I think I know it, but if I need a refresher, it could be useful. For now though, all I really need is practice reading a different alphabet. It's nothing new; Shandon taught me another one some time ago," I told her. Actually, I had taught Shandon, but Nephry didn't need to know that. All she needed to know was that I needed the fonic alphabet written out for me.

Less than half an hour later, I had a piece of paper with three lines of letters on it. The first line, of course, was the fonic alphabet that Nephry had written out for me, and the second, predictably, was the English alphabet. The third?

I smiled and scribbled down the rune for 'z' before looking over my work proudly. Then, I cringed. Maybe keeping this cheat sheet wouldn't be such a good idea…

However, after sighing and deciding that maybe it wasn't worth it, I started to slowly translate the book in my arms, having returned to the floor near the fireplace. The beginning was a basic explanation of how to draw fonons into your body, and really, the words on the page captivated me.

Nephry had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention so that we could eat dinner, and after tucking the paper into the book for use as an impromptu bookmark, the rest of the night passed quickly as we ate and prepared for bed.

I did, however, ask one question of her.

"Nephry? What's today's date?"

She turned from where she had been neatly stacking up her papers for the next day and looked at me. "Sylphday, Gnome-Redecan 16. Why?" she replied. I frowned.

"2017?" I asked. She nodded, and I whistled quietly. "Wow. Talk about no sense of time, or the date at least."

Nephry smiled. "Let me guess. You haven't seen a calendar in a long time," she said. I nodded.

"Pretty much," I replied with a yawn. "And that's my cue to go to bed. Good night, Nephry, and thank you again."

Nephry giggled. "Good night, Kairi."

* * *

_**Fun fact:** In the original version, Kairi was working on Destiny Call before getting dumped in Auldrant. However, since that story had been dead for quite some time by the time I began rewriting this story, Vampires 2 took its place._


	2. Chapter 1.2 - Arrival in Keterburg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please disregard any strange formatting stuff going on up top with the chapter title. Still getting used to AO3's setup.

_"Add 'talking to total strangers' to the list of stupid things you've done today, would you?" -???_

* * *

Nephry took me shopping the next day. Lacking anything else to wear, I went out in the blue dress and a pair of gray boots she had lent me, even though they were a little small. Of course, as you can probably guess, clothes were on the top of our list of essentials, so the tailor was the first visit.

Once there, we started in on a bit of an argument that would become a running joke for the three of us (myself, Nephry, and the seamstress), and eventually decided on an outfit for me. However, as it was a custom order, it would be some time before it was finished, so Nephry and I talked over some other outfits. She insisted that I have a warm dress, but I really didn't see the point behind it. I wanted something I could move around in, rather than a dress that would limit my movement, but she was stubborn.

I left the tailor's shop that day with two outfits, and a third on the way. To placate Nephry, one of the outfits was a dress very much (almost exactly) similar to the blue one she had lent me, the only differences being that this one actually fit me, and it was green. We had gotten gray boots to go with it.

The second outfit was the one I left the shop wearing. It consisted of an emerald green strapless top, black pants, tan boots, and an off-white jacket. A brown belt hung diagonally across my hips.

We stopped for lunch before continuing on to our second destination, the weapons shop.

"So, I heard you say weapons, plural, when you were talking about the bandits likely taking your things, and I was wondering what you used," Nephry commented as we walked along. I shrugged.

"Sword and bow," I said, almost off-handedly. "I know it sounds like a strange combination, but it works."

Nephry thought for a moment. "I suppose it would be easier to hunt with a bow than a sword, but I don't think I'd want to be left with just the bow, either," she commented as we came into sight of the shop. I smiled and mentally thanked her for coming up with my excuse for me.

"Exactly," I agreed, stopping in front of the weapons shop and holding the door open for her. The shopkeeper greeted Nephry happily before she explained that we were there for me, and he then crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, young lady like yourself, you sure you should be fighting?" he asked. I put a hand on my hip and focused a glare on him, and he chuckled. "Ha, ha! And spirit on top of that, huh? Alright, what are we looking for today?" he asked. I looked around at the swords that were hanging on the walls.

"Sword, longer reach, but nothing too heavy," I rattled off, already having an idea of what I needed. The man thought for a moment before walking over to the far wall and lifting a sword off of it. I looked over it carefully as we both headed for the middle of the room, and he flipped it around so that I could take the hilt with my right hand.

I frowned and took the sword, holding it gently as I weighed it in my hands, before flipping it over, stepping back, and drawing the blade from the sheath with my left hand.

"Left-handed?" the man asked. I made a face.

"I draw right-handed, write with either, shoot a bow right-handed, but I just can not swing a sword right-handed. Always has to be left or both… Which, I know, makes no sense, but then, that sounds about normal," I told him. He laughed as I swung the sword a couple of times and grinned at how easy it felt. I held out the sheath. "Would you hold this for a moment?"

He took the sheath and walked over to where Nephry was sitting on a bench near the wall as I swung the sword around a few more times with just my left hand before taking it in both hands (right hand leading, oddly enough) and started in on a quick succession of powerful swings that was usually enough to have Nathan, one of my usual sparring partners, backing away.

That thought made me pause. Nathan and Chris had both been ex-boyfriends of mine, and then they were both best friends, with each other as well as with me and my girls. Just the thought of not being able to joke with Chris or tease Nathan made me start choking up.

"Something wrong?" the shopkeeper asked. I relaxed and let the sword hang loosely from my left hand as I turned around.

"Just thinking about people I miss," I told him. "At any rate, I like this one. Light, but not too light, well-balanced, and it's got the reach I need and the long hilt. Actually, 'like' might be an understatement."

Nephry laughed at my enthusiasm and turned to the man. "Then it's sold," she told him. He nodded and wandered over to the shelf he'd pulled it from, returning to the counter after muttering a series of numbers to himself.

We left about fifteen minutes later with the sword now hanging from my belt. We had decided over lunch that we'd wait to get the bow until closer to the time when I was going to leave Keterburg altogether, because while I could use it as a weapon, since my excuse was that of using it primarily for hunting, I 'didn't need it' yet. We wandered around for a while, chatting amiably, and my eyes kept darting to the north, toward Mt. Roneal. Nephry must have noticed, because she stopped somewhere in the middle of town after we had left the items shop, where she had purchased a good number of Gels for me.

"You know, if you'd like to train, there are plenty of monsters between here and the port. They're a little weaker than the monsters north of here, but they're still fairly strong, and if you need to take a break, you can stop in the port or come back into the city, whichever is closer," she rationalized. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"That sounds nice," I agreed, promising to be back before dark and walking off.

However, rather than actually heading south, I walked in that direction for a while, made a loop around the casino, and then headed northward out of town.

Smart idea? Probably not, but if I was going to get any experience, I would need to fight some monsters. And, while there were some on the southern path, there weren't as many as there were north of the city. Still, not really an intelligent idea, seeing as how the monsters around Mt. Roneal are the strongest in the world (not counting those at the Absorption and Radiation Gates).

However, I wasn't being totally stupid. I give myself credit for staying away from the large groups of monsters as I wandered around, and, after a good half hour of ducking around the groups, I spotted something a bit more appealing.

Two wolves wandered around in a clearing in the pine trees, alone, and I drew my sword, the hiss of the metal catching the attention of my targets. I held the blade out in front of me in a diagonal that had the tip of the blade almost trailing the ground, and then the wolves attacked.

They ran at me together, and, holding off as long as I felt I could, I slashed, the sword continuing along the diagonal line it had created earlier. Taking a step back, I brought the sword back down on the wolf that had gotten around the first slash and knocked it off-balance before kicking it to the side as quickly as I could.

My focus was then locked on the wolf that was lunging for my throat once more. Taking the sword in both hands, I delivered a swift and powerful blow to its side, then brought the sword back to angle it across my body, effectively deflecting the counter-attack the wolf had attempted to launch. I had to turn then to slash at the second wolf, an action that was followed by a couple of jumps to the side, which got me out of the way as the first wolf charged.

It was my turn to charge now, and, both hands still gripping my sword, I landed one strong, solid strike against both wolves, knocking the first to the ground and forcing the second to the side. Spinning on my heel and bending my knees, I buried my blade in the first wolf's heart before it could stand back up. Its fonons were already separating by the time the second wolf lunged at me again.

I swung at it twice, once with only my left hand, the second gripping the hilt with both hands. A final slash at its neck killed it, and left me to stop, sheath my sword, and look over myself.

Over the course of the fight, I had managed to accumulate only two cuts, though one wasn't really a cut. More of a scratch, really. I frowned and shifted the cloth on my pants to get a better look at the cut. It wasn't deep, but I'd need to do something about it soon.

Moving the cloth back into place, I watched in shock as it stitched itself back up, then grinned.

"That's certainly handy," I muttered, doing the same with the tear that marked the scratch on my jacket. It was then that I noted the minute drain on my energy, and I raised an eyebrow before shrugging it off.

I sighed and headed off, looking for more relatively lonely targets, and decided upon a lone… um… well, whatever those garuda-class monsters near Mt. Roneal are. I smirked and ran at it, drawing my sword and slashing at it in one swipe. It cried out in anger and attacked me just as I put my sword between me and it.

Thankful once more for all of the practice I had gotten in with Nathan and Chris (not so much the girls, because they really weren't all that great), I slashed at the bird again, once twice, a third time, and then, taking the hilt in both hands, delivered a powerful finishing blow to my combo. The attacks left the bird on the ground and defenseless, so I took the opportunity to slip another combo in.

A couple of times jumping out of the way and another half dozen or so combos later, the bird fell to the ground for the last time and started to disappear.

It was then that I heard the slow clapping in the background.

I turned to look behind me, the direction the clapping was coming from, and wasn't surprised to see someone there, leaning against the tree. A black hood hid their face from me, and as I watched, they crossed their arms and their hood seemed to turn away from me slightly.

"Amazingly intelligent of you, wandering around in a forest by yourself. And well done with killing that monster," the boy, for indeed the voice was that of a male, said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and popped an Apple Gel in my mouth, as the monster had managed to open a nice gash on my left hip, before letting my clothes fix themselves.

"I didn't see you helping," I shot back. The boy scoffed.

"Add 'talking to total strangers' to the list of stupid things you've done today, would you?" he commented. I crossed my arms.

"If you wanted to harm me, you would have done so already, probably while I was still fighting with that monster. The fact that you haven't acted aggressively toward me also implies that you have no intention to do so," I stated. The boy's hood turned back toward me slightly.

"Hmm… Not quite as stupid as I first thought you were. Interesting…" he said quietly. Then, shifting away from the tree, he turned and headed into the forest. I started to follow him, but stopped, spun on my heel, and drew my sword in a single motion to block against the yeti that was charging at me.

I growled under my breath and began to unleash hell on the monster, much as I had the three before it.

I thought I saw a liger of some kind off in the trees as I dodged around the yeti, but I dismissed it in favor of focusing on the monster that was attacking me. Did ligers even come this far north?

The yeti came at me for the fourth time and I resisted the urge to scream in frustration. Starting to get an idea as to what the first thing I would want to do whenever Remday, Rem-Decan 23 came near, I slashed upwards toward the yeti, accidentally but barely striking the packed snow beneath my feet.

Looking back on it, I'm not sure exactly how I managed to pull it off, and you'll understand why shortly, but it certainly opened my mind to developing my fighting style beyond just the hack-and-slash I was doing then.

A shockwave ran along the ground, on the line I had struck, and hit the yeti, causing it to flinch and leave me an opening as I charged forward, dropping a combo on it as quickly as I could. Then, dancing away to avoid its counter-attack, I tripped over a tree root and cursed.

Thinking as quickly as I could, I rolled away from the trees (and away from where the yeti slammed its hands into the ground) and got back to my feet. Wait, where was…?

Damn, I had dropped my sword when I tripped!

Muttering a few colorful expletives, I ran to the other side of the nicely circular clearing, and the yeti followed me. Once it was a little past halfway to me, I started moving again, running the edge of the clearing back to where I had fallen to pick up my weapon. By the time I was ready to face the yeti again, it was nearly within striking distance.

I took a deep breath to calm (or attempt to, at least) my frantic heart before laying into the yeti in frustration.

It only took a single combo to kill it, and I sighed and leaned against my sword slightly as if it were a cane. A quick scan revealed only one injury, this one being on my right arm, and I decided that one more battle would do it before I had to use another of my Apple Gels.

Unfortunately, the next battle ended up being against four wolves. One Apple Gel about halfway through saved me from getting eaten alive, and a second once all of the wolves were gone got me back to what I suppose would have been full health.

Three battles after that and running very low on Apple Gels, I looked toward the west, noting how low the sun was hanging in the sky. I sighed and headed back to town, which really wasn't that far from my current location. I just had to get through these trees and then…

Wait, were those voices?

I paused to listen.

"Does it really matter, Sync? The Mt. Roneal sephiroth needs to be checked," I heard a woman say. I frowned. I didn't recognize the voice, but I recognized the name. Sync…

If Sync the Tempest mistook me for an enemy, I'd be screwed, but I certainly didn't want to risk getting lost in this forest trying to find another way back. I knew I was between the voices and Mt. Roneal, so… up a tree, maybe?

"No, but… Daemione's supposedly got a liger with him. If he mistakes you for an enemy, you won't have just a trained assassin attacking you, but that liger too. And those footprints back in that clearing… Two sets, and only one of them could have been his," I heard Sync reply as I started up a tree nearby. I settled in a good ways above the well-worn path below and started praying that I wouldn't be seen.

"I'll be fine. My leg might still give me trouble from time to time, but I'm not exactly a cripple," the woman told him. I looked around the tree and my eyes widened in surprise. A few steps further along the path, and they definitely would have seen me. As for the identity of the woman, I was mildly shocked to see that it was Cantabile. Where was she the whole game, anyway?

Sync sighed and turned to continue down the beaten path, while Cantabile meandered off along a thinner, less-worn trail. I was tempted to follow her, but decided that I'd rather live.

I stayed in that tree for over an hour before deciding that it would be safe to jump to the ground. Making my way from branch to branch felt easier than I remembered it being, and when I jumped from a height that normally would have been difficult to safely land from and ended up on my feet, barely bending my legs, I raised an eyebrow.

Apparently game logic applied to gravity, as well as my clothes.

I was really beginning to appreciate game logic.

I made it into town just as the sun was going down and made my way to Nephry's place, still quietly wondering what Sync and Cantabile had been doing here. Maybe it was some event that happened before the game started that had the result of Cantabile being unable to show up in the game?

And what had they been saying? Something about a Daemione, and a liger.

I ran a hand through my bangs as I stepped through the door into the warmth of the mansion. I was over-thinking this, I knew I was, because while I did want to know what was going on, I had a feeling that I'd find out later anyway. It was one of those things, when I got a feeling like that, I listened. And so, rather than stressing out, I pushed it as far out of my mind as I could.

Nephry was sitting in her living room when I stepped in, and she looked up at me from the book she had been reading. "Have fun?" she asked after glancing at the clock. I laughed a bit.

"Yeah, it was interesting. Ran myself low on Apple Gels, but it was nice getting to fight something a little stronger than the monsters that are usually running around the Rugnica Plains," I replied. Nephry smiled and reached into bag at the side of her chair.

"I had a feeling you'd run low on Gels, so I made sure to pick up some more, as well as this," she told me, standing and walking over with something green in her hand. When she held it out to show me, however, I grinned.

"Oh, it's beautiful, Nephry! I hadn't even thought about picking up a journal, but I'm glad you did," I cheered. And indeed, the book was a deep, emerald green in color. The pages were lined, and a black leather cord wrapped around the journal, keeping it safely closed. Nephry smiled.

"Thank you. I was hoping you'd like it. I never heard you mention it, but I thought you might appreciate having something to record your travels and whatnot in," she said. I nodded and held the journal to my chest.

"Yup. And I think I'm going to write my first entry just as soon as I can find a pen," I told her. Nephry giggled.

"Well, I was hoping you'd eat before you wrote, but oh well. The cook can keep your dinner warm a little longer," she commented. I laughed.

"Nah, I don't think I'll keep him waiting," I decided. "I can wait a bit to write." And that was just what I did, eating a good dinner before sitting down at the desk in the living room. After scribbling a rather clumsy warning in the Fonic Alphabet to anyone that may try to read the journal, I started in on what would be the first entry of many.

Almost an hour later, I yawned, put the pen away, and closed the journal before heading up to the bedroom that would be mine temporarily. I barely bothered to change into a nightgown Nephry had given me before crawling under the covers and falling asleep.

**__**

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _The OC who first appears in this chapter (currently unnamed) is my absolute favorite from this trilogy. If for no other reason than because he's so sarcastic. His character development is also something to observe._


	3. Chapter 1.3 - Arrival in Keterburg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still getting used to AO3's setup, but I think I've found a style I like. I've also finally figured out how to get my computer to read stuff to me so I can find some of the stupid errors a little faster.
> 
> Updates will come sporadically as I race to try to get everything I owe my readers beta-read, edited, and posted before the end of the year.

_"You are… the oddest person I have ever met… And I've met a lot of odd people." -Dark  
_

* * *

I yawned, stretched, rolled over, and landed on the floor.

Then I looked up in confusion before my memories of the last couple days came back to me, and I groaned quietly before getting up and meandering over to the fireplace that was meant to be lit as an extra heat source in the extra cold winter. Sitting cross-legged in front of it, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

It took a few minutes for my body to relax, but once it did, I allowed my mind to empty. My slow, steady breathing and the rhythmic beating of my heart would have lulled me back to sleep if I hadn't been so used to doing this. Okay, so it had been a while, but I wanted to relax my body so that my mind was more free, because there was something I needed to confirm.

Yesterday, when I had attacked the yeti, I had somehow managed to unleash Demon Fang. But, that required fonons, right? And using fonons meant you needed fonslots, correct?

Or at least, that was the problem my logic was running into. But, and this was concerning me, I had a feeling that I knew exactly how I had pulled it off.

My mind almost completely blank, I felt as if I could just float away from my body, there and then, and that's exactly what I did. Well, I didn't float, exactly. I stood and stepped away from my body, leaving it sitting there, cross-legged and hands on knees in front of the unlit fireplace.

All around me, tiny, glowing orbs no larger than poppy seeds flowed, weaving through everything, in all manner of colors. Red, blue, green, yellow, gold, silver, violet, lavender… I gazed around myself in awe.

Now then, allow me to stop and explain.

The world we live in exists on three planes, or dimensions. The first, of course, is the one we all realize that we live on, the physical plane, known as such because this is the only plane most people will ever see.

The third plane, the metaphysical, is only hypothetical. If you believe in ghosts, then you believe that people can live on this third plane without a body in either the first or second planes. That which exists on the metaphysical plane is only your mind.

And then there is the second plane.

Our world, Earth, is held together by Energies, capital 'e' always. Energies flow through everything, give every object in the world a purpose. Anything living has an Energy Core, a pocket of Energies that ties your spirit to your body. Your spirit is, in essence, those Energies which you can call your own, for as long as you may live.

It takes a lot of practice and a bit of patience, but if you can learn to transfer your mind so that it is anchored within your spirit, rather than your body, you can move around on the second plane, at the price of leaving your body empty, save for your Energy Core.

And, looking around the room at Nephry's mansion that morning, I was completely and totally awestruck.

I reached out my hand and waved it through the air, picking up a number of blue orbs, but leaving many more behind. Frowning, I examined the Energies I was holding before myself, and realized that they were slightly irregular, like… a drop of water, falling through the air. Shifting, never quite spherical.

Then, after releasing the water Energies back into the streams around me, I cleared as many of them away from an area as I could so I could look at the glowing orbs that refused to answer to me.

I looked over them, fascinated. Perfectly spherical, unlike the Energies. So, these must be fonons. Fourth fonons, if I remember my elements order correctly. Now then, to figure out how I had managed Demon Fang…

It took about twenty minutes of experimenting before I became frustrated. Even on the second plane, when all I should have needed was a nudge and a thought to shift the fonons, they stubbornly refused to answer to me.

My frustration took the form of a few sun Energies lashing out towards the fonons and wrapping around them. I watched, almost in shock, as the Energies corralled the fonons I had been trying to control into the area where I had wanted them.

I frowned and wandered over toward the fireplace, dispersing the sun Energies with a thought and watching as the fonons went back to what they had been doing as if nothing had happened. So, my control over Energies while I was on the physical plane had spiked for a moment, unleashing a strike arte. That wasn't good. I could tell, already, that there were at least three times as many Energies here as on Earth, and I had lit up a fire the last time I lost control of Energies on the physical plane there. Who knew what could happen here if I wasn't careful?

The door opened quietly as Nephry peeked in, and I sighed before slipping back into my body. I opened my eyes and turned to look over my shoulder. "Morning," I said happily. Nephry smiled.

"I didn't really want to wake you, but it would appear that you're already awake," she said. I shrugged.

"Eh. I'm used to being up early, so this is nothing new," I replied. Nephry giggled.

"I've got a lot of work to catch up on today, but would you like to join me for breakfast?" she asked. I untangled my legs and stood in a continuous motion that ended with me patting down the nightgown.

"I don't see why not," I agreed, following her down to the dining room.

About an hour later, after recording my observations from the morning, I headed out again. I knew how to fight, I'd proven that the day before, but I wanted to see just how much I could tweak my fighting style.

I was wandering around among the trees again when I spotted the blue and black that didn't belong. I raised an eyebrow. Well, that was definitely a liger, but I'd never seen one in those colors before.

"What are you staring at?"

I looked over my shoulder in surprise. The hooded boy from before was standing there in the shadows of the trees, and I shrugged. "Never seen a liger in those colors before," I replied simply. The boy was silent for a while.

"Let me guess. You've seen Arietta's friends?" he muttered. I nodded, and he sighed. "Koran's from a different clan. There are three liger clans, each one broken up into different packs. Arietta's liger friends are all from the southern clan, their yellow bodies being their most dominant feature. Koran is from the eastern clan. The brown manes are the characteristic there," he explained. I frowned.

"Just out of curiosity, what's the third clan?" The boy was silent for a while.

"Red tails with either black or white tips, western," he said. I watched as the liger came back over, pausing as it watched me cautiously. I took a small step forward and held out my hand.

"May I?" I asked, more to the liger than the boy. The liger seemed… well, surprised, but it took a couple steps toward me and lowered its head, allowing me to run my hand through its fur.

"You are… the oddest person I have ever met…" the boy commented. "And I've met a lot of odd people."

I smiled as I started scratching behind an ear, resulting in the liger beginning to almost purr. "Is that so?" I muttered. Then, a now-familiar screech reached my ears, and I turned to see two wolves and two of the garuda-class monsters coming right for the three of us.

Koran growled and settled into a defensive stance, while I drew my sword. The boy sighed as the liger next to me growled again.

"Grumble, grumble. Fine, I'll help," the boy muttered, drawing two guns. I rolled my eyes at him before taking off running toward the wolves. I'd leave him to deal with the annoying flying enemies while I tried a little hack-and-slash on the wolves.

The boy and his liger, it seemed, were better fighters than I was, however, and once the liger had killed the other wolf, it helped me with the one I'd been focusing on. The boy killed one of the flying monsters on his own, and the second with the help of myself and the liger.

I frowned as the boy cursed, noting a gash along his left arm. Now, how had that gotten there?

Koran growled in concern as a fonic glyph formed around the boy's feet. "O angelic ring of purity and grace…" the boy muttered. "Halo!" The wound sealed up immediately, which was followed by his clothes stitching themselves up, and he looked at me. "You wounded?" he asked. I looked over myself and shook my head.

"No. I was surprised you were," I replied. The boy's hood shifted, and I got the impression that he was rolling his eyes.

"Whatever," he grumbled. "You ready to head back home, Koran?" The liger growled, and the boy crossed his arms. "No, I don't," he argued. Koran growled again, and I sighed, feeling rather left out of the conversation. The boy groaned. "Ugh, fine. But keep in mind that this was your idea," he muttered.

I crossed my arms. "Do I even want to know?" I asked. The boy frowned and slipped his hood off, revealing slightly messy black hair that, for the most part, was braided down his back. Mismatched eyes, one gold, one green, watched me with something between curiosity and contempt.

"Koran and I guessed that you were training yesterday, and he wants to go with you today," he explained. "However, I've got work to do. So…" he trailed off, looking a bit uncomfortable. I smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him," I promised. He turned back to me, and though he didn't smile, his eyes were softer than they had been.

"Thanks," he said. I nodded and looked at Koran before frowning.

"I'm Kairi, by the way," I added. The boy looked over his shoulder in shock before a confident look replaced the shock.

"Dark," he said simply before walking off. Koran huffed and hung his head, and I giggled.

"I take it he's just awkward around other people," I guessed. The liger nodded, then looked around, then back at me. It was pretty obvious that he was asking something along the lines of 'what now?'. That was a good question. I headed a little further into the forest. There was a series of clearings that I had been running through the day before, so I figured that would be as good a place to start as any.

Having Koran with me made everything a lot more interesting. Yes, his claws could kill a monster in a third of the time it took me to kill one with my sword, but I was more concerned with adapting my fighting style here and there to work not just around him, but with him. Koran, likewise, seemed to be enjoying what I'm sure was the novelty of fighting alongside a close-range fighter.

It must have been well after noon by the time Koran paused and looked away from me. I frowned and followed his eyes. "Something up?" I asked. Koran growled, then, shaking his head as if realizing that I couldn't understand him, gently took my jacket in his teeth and tugged for a moment, before pointing with his head toward the mountain nearby. One of the worn paths led toward it, and I crossed my arms. "Something you wanna investigate?" I guessed.

Koran nodded, and I shrugged and made a 'lead the way' gesture. He started off toward the path, following it until it faded away, and continuing to walk. I frowned when I noted the footprints, which were the only imperfections in the layer of snow after a while. I paused and put one of my feet next to a footprint.

Whoever it was definitely had smaller feet than me…

I looked up at the mountain in surprise as something clicked. Sync had been headed for the Mt. Roneal sephiroth, hadn't he? Had something happened? There were footsteps going in, but none coming out…

Koran growled from up ahead, and I ran after him quickly. He continued up the mountain until he stopped, his ears twitching as he sniffed around. Then he started digging in a rather large pile of snow right next to us. I crossed my arms in confusion, then looked up. The rocky path above was suspiciously clear… and the path had seemed to want to spread out earlier…

I gasped as realization struck me before I started helping Koran. Okay, so maybe my hands weren't helping that much, compared to his paws, but at least I was doing something.

It was when the snow pack shifted and I heard a startled cry from beneath the snow that I knew for sure that my assumption was more than that. That voice… I would know that voice anywhere.

"Dammit, the snow's collapsed on him! We have to hurry, he'll suffocate otherwise!" Koran and I began working faster, until I had him pause and dug a little bit myself, unburying strands of green hair. Disregarding the fact that my own fingers were now freezing, I used my shoulder to push a part of the snow off of the top before digging and clearing the snow away from Sync's face.

Gasping and coughing let me know that I had succeeded, even though I'm pretty certain Sync passed out afterwards, and one look at Koran told the liger all he needed to know as he started digging the boy out. Once he had gotten a good deal of the snow off, I slipped my arms under Sync's and wrapped them around his torso before pulling the God-General out.

Koran watched me dust as much snow off of him as I could before I looked up at him. He turned sideways and looked over his shoulder, an obvious invitation to hop on. After slipping Sync onto his back, I jumped on and took hold of Koran's mane, keeping Sync's body safely tucked between mine and the liger's.

Koran wasted no time running off, down the mountain and back through the woods. He slowed to take a turn off of the beaten path to head down the trail Cantabile had traveled the night before. He knew the path well, and before long, we had reached a small cabin.

Koran growled loudly as soon as the cabin came into sight, and the door was open with a dark braid sticking out within moments. The liger slowed to a brisk walk as Dark held the door open, and the black-haired boy watched me pull Sync off of Koran's back quietly.

"Do I even want to know?" Dark asked as I carried Sync over to the fireplace. Koran started growling, likely relaying what had happened. It must have been ten minutes later when Dark walked over to where I was peeling Sync's coat off while rubbing his arms to keep the blood flowing.

He handed me two blankets, and I smiled and pulled the jacket and gloves I had been wearing off, placing them with Sync's coat so that they would, hopefully, dry out. Then, after ensuring that there really wasn't much else I could do for Sync without another set of clothes, I sighed and grabbed one of the blankets.

"He looks to be about the same size as me. I can lend him a shirt and pair of pants until his clothes are dry," Dark commented. I paused and looked up at him. My expression must have caught somewhere between guilt and hope, because he headed into one of the two other rooms and came back out with a black t-shirt and black pants.

I will confess to feeling a little awkward as I stripped Sync, but really, the only thing that was truly on my mind then was getting him into dry clothing and keeping him warm.

I slipped one of the blankets over Sync and then pulled the second around my shoulders, while Dark sat nearby. "Thank you," I said quietly. He looked at me for a minute before looking away.

"You… you're very trusting," he replied, just as quietly. I looked down at Sync.

"What do you mean?" I wondered. Dark ran a hand through his partly loose hair.

"You trusted Koran to protect your back while you were training, you trusted him when he wanted to head up Mt. Roneal. And... You trust me…" he said, ending in a whisper. I looked up at him again.

"And why shouldn't I? You've given me no reason not to," I replied. Dark looked over at me for a while, and I realized that his right eye, the gold eye, had a slitted pupil, like a reptile's. He seemed to figure out what I was looking at, because he turned away.

I didn't bother him about it, instead looking at Sync again. I had taken his mask off long enough to let the fire melt the snow off and warm it up a bit. I had put it back in place, of course, because I had a feeling that Sync would flip if I hadn't.

"Kairi… my full name is Dark Daemione," Dark finally said. I looked up at him, not really surprised after the conversation I had overheard between Cantabile and Sync the night before. But after a while, his expression became extremely wary. "I'm an assassin."

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** This chapter was originally longer. However, it was getting quite long, the next chapter was quite short, and Dark's dump of "I'm an assassin" seemed like the perfect place to leave off. Hence...^_


	4. CHapter 1.4 - Arrival in Keterburg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, don't mind the mass-updating that's happening sporadically as I manage to re-format everything...

_"He's a lot more grateful than he's acting.” -Cantabile_

* * *

I raised an eyebrow, though more because I was wondering what Cantabile would want with an assassin than anything else. The fact that he was one didn't really surprise me, as the deadly accuracy with which he had shot down the monsters earlier only helped to support the statement.

I was aware of both Koran and Dark watching me, both seemingly anxious as to how I would take the news.

I leaned back and put my weight on my hands. "Okay," I started bluntly. "And your point is? You helped me earlier with the monsters, and you've helped me take care of him," I paused, nodding toward Sync. "And it’s like I said yesterday. If you were going to harm me, you'd have done it already. You've given me no reason to distrust you. Really, all you've done is the opposite."

Dark's mismatched eyes scanned my face, looking for any hints of malice or disdain, I'm sure. His eyes widened slightly in shock after a moment, and he looked away from me. I heard Koran growl quietly as I looked back at the fire, then out the window. It was getting late, and I'm sure Nephry would be waiting for me by now.

"You need to get back to town, don't you?" Dark asked. I turned to him and nodded quietly, and he looked over at Koran, growling quietly. Koran growled back, and I raised an eyebrow as I realized that Dark could both understand and speak the ligers' language.

Dark pulled Sync's boots away from the fireplace and slipped them onto his feet. "I can't keep him here, but Koran will take the two of you back to the edge of town. He can't go in without attracting attention, but…" He trailed off and gave me a look. I nodded.

"Thank you, Dark," I said, grabbing my jacket and pulling it on. It was still damp on the outside, but it didn't bother me, because the inside was nice and warm from being inside out next to the fire. I bundled up Sync's clothes with his nearly-dry shirt on the outside and put the bundle to the side for a moment.

Koran stood and Dark helped me slip the unconscious God-General onto his back. Dark handed me the bundle that contained his clothes as I jumped up behind the green-haired boy.

"Here. Drop my blanket and clothes off back here next chance you get. There's a window in the back that's busted if the door is locked," he told me. I nodded.

"I can do that. Thanks for helping us so much, Dark," I replied. He opened the door and Koran stepped out into the darkening forest, taking off at a run almost as soon as his paws were on snow.

We made it back to Keterburg as the sun was half-disappearing. Koran paused, and I looked over his head and raised an eyebrow. "She's seen you before, hasn't she?" I asked him. He nodded, and I frowned. "She's an associate of his. She might be able to help me get him to Nephry's place," I said.

Yes, Cantabile was standing just inside the gates of Keterburg, looking worriedly toward Mt. Roneal.

Koran stopped a little ways away and growled. Cantabile turned her head slightly, but didn't move away from where she stood vigil. I rolled my eyes.

"Help!" I called. That got her moving, and though she came running, she seemed to be limping. She caught sight of me and Koran rather quickly once she was away from the gates, and her eyes widened in shock when she spotted Sync in my arms.

"What happened?!" Cantabile asked as she reached us. I grimaced.

"Small avalanche. We're lucky Koran heard it and managed to get him mostly unburied," I told her. She looked between me and the liger.

"Can we get him to the hotel?" she wondered. I frowned.

"I was going to take him to Nephry's with me," I explained. She crossed her arms. "It's closer than the hotel," I added. Cantabile nodded.

"Alright. Here, I'll help you get him off the liger," she prompted. I shifted Sync into her waiting arms, grabbing the bundle of his clothes before they could slip off as I slid off Koran's back myself.

I turned to him and petted his head. "Thanks for everything you've done today," I said quietly. He growled and nudged me before running off. His way of saying 'you're welcome', I suppose.

I then turned again and took Sync back from Cantabile. Her right leg seemed to be having problems, and I definitely didn't want her falling with the younger God-General in her arms.

"What's your name?" Cantabile asked as we wandered past the gates. I smiled up at her.

"Kairi. Yours?" I replied. She looked a bit surprised.

"Cantabile. His is Sync," she told me. "Though, I confess to finding it odd that you didn't know that already."

I giggled. "I suspected, but I think it's rude to address someone by their name until they give it to you," I explained, covering up my tracks as best I could. Cantabile smiled.

"A wise policy, since you might not always have the right person. For all you knew, I could have been Legretta," she said. I laughed.

"Nah, Legretta's a blonde. I've seen her before, even if I haven't actually met her," I replied. Cantabile laughed, and I nodded toward the mansion I had stopped in front of. "Can you get the door?"

The God-General looked slightly surprised, then smiled and did so, holding the door open as I stepped through with Sync still in my arms. My back was starting to hurt a bit from carrying him, so I laid him down on the nearest couch and headed into the living room after gesturing for Cantabile to follow.

"Oh, you're finally… oh, who's this?" Nephry said as I walked into the room. I stepped aside to allow Cantabile forward, and she nodded politely. "Cantabile? It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" Nephry asked. The God-General smiled.

"Yes. I had planned on coming to your wedding, but I'm afraid I was otherwise occupied at the time," she replied. "I hate to impose on you like this, but my companion was caught in a small avalanche, and my leg's acting up again. I didn't want to make Kairi carry him all the way to the hotel, and—"

Nephry shook her head. "Say no more, I know how dangerous the mountain is. There are two empty rooms upstairs to the left. The first door is Kairi's room, but the two after it are yours as long as you need them," she interrupted. Cantabile nodded, and I smiled.

"I'll just go put him up in the room next to mine," I said, leaving to do just that.

After tucking Sync into bed, I looked over at the fireplace. There were logs there, but there was no fire. So, after walking over and sitting down in front of the hearth, I closed my eyes, slipping onto the second plane again.

There are two things you can do with Energies. Magic, and tricks. Magic will severely deplete your strength, but tricks? Oh, tricks are easy.

I started gathering up red Energies, fire Energies, until I had a large mass of them. Then I threw together some gold, silver, and lavender Energies into another mass. Sun and moon Energies to give the fire Energies some substance, and wind Energies to enforce the fire.

I held the fire Energies around the wood in the fire, watching as they curled and wrapped around the wood. They wanted to burn, but in this form, they couldn't.

I brought the second mass of Energies down to join the fire Energies, and watched, amazed as always, as a few sparks lit, then erupted into flames. I grinned and slipped back into my body, watching as the wood began to burn and the fire danced.

The door opened and Cantabile stuck her head in. "Nephry asked me to tell you that dinner is in the kitchen waiting on you," she informed me. Then she smiled. "Oh, you already lit the fire."

I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, didn't want him getting sick. Well, too sick. I think he's already got a fever, but at this point…" I trailed off. Cantabile nodded.

"You've done what you can for him. Now, you go eat, and let his body recover on its own. I'm going to go to bed myself, since I ate before coming here," she said. I sighed and stood, heading down to the kitchen and eating before heading back up to my room. I picked the journal up off the table and scribbled a couple paragraphs before closing it, changing, and falling asleep.

I yawned and meandered down the stairs. I was wearing the green dress Nephry had gotten me, indicating rather plainly that I had no plans to go train for the day. To be quite frank, my body was sore from the last two days, my back especially from carrying Sync the night before, and I was running a low fever, even for me, seeing as how I usually ran a 99.4 or so temp.

"You okay? You look a little paler than usual," Nephry commented. I ran a hand through my bangs, which had fallen loose from my ponytail.

"I'm running a low fever from digging Sync out of the snow yesterday," I mumbled. "So I'm probably going to eat, find a book, and take it upstairs to read."

Nephry nodded. "Yes, you should try to relax if you're sick. Though, I'm not going to ask what you were even doing on Mt. Roneal," she commented. I shrugged.

"You don't want to know," I said bluntly, sitting down at the table.

"Hm, someone's up early," Cantabile said as she walked in. I yawned.

"Usually up and awake earlier than this. That's how I know I'm running a fever; I didn't get up before the sun rose, which means my internal clock's gone all to hell," I grumbled.

"If it's any consolation, Sync's awake. He'll be down shortly," she told me. I shrugged and buried my head in my arms.

I guess I fell asleep, because I woke to Nephry gently shaking my shoulders. "Hey… your food's going to get cold," she teased. I yawned and poked at my breakfast before I started eating it. Nephry walked back to her seat across from me, with Cantabile next to her. There was another seat next to her, but it was empty, and glancing directly to my right, I saw why.

Rather than sitting next to Cantabile, as I had expected him to, Sync was sitting next to me. I just shrugged it off and went about eating my food. I was about halfway through eating when Sync stopped playing with his eggs with a sigh.

"Thank you."

I froze, fork still in my mouth, and looked over at him. "For getting me out from under that snow," he continued. I smiled and swallowed the egg I had put in my mouth.

"You're very welcome," I said simply, before turning back to what was left of my breakfast. I hadn't touched the bacon yet, but that was an oddball habit of mine. I had started with the hash browns, and then gone through the eggs, and now came the bacon.

Sync stopped playing around with his eggs and finally ate them, and Cantabile smiled. "He's a lot more grateful than he's acting," she commented. Sync nearly choked on the hash browns he had just put in his mouth, and I giggled.

"I figured. You kinda remind me of a friend of mine," I said, the second half of that statement directed toward the green-haired boy next to me. "I got a 'thank you' though, so it's not like I don't know."

I thought I saw Sync smile a bit before he went back to picking at his food. I, personally, finished my bacon before another yawn escaped and Nephry giggled.

"Maybe you'd better go back to bed instead of reading," she hinted. I shrugged.

"You know, that actually sounds nice. I think I'll do that," I agreed, standing and heading back to my room.

When I woke up again, it was to the sound of someone knocking on the door. I opened it to find Cantabile standing there. "Here. Sync said you might have an idea who these belonged to," she said, holding out the clothes Dark had lent him. I took them as she continued. "We have to get going. I'll make sure he gets plenty of rest, but right now we need to catch our ferry. Come by the cathedral in Daath sometime and ask after me. If I'm there, I won't mind showing you around the city."

I smiled. "I will. Thanks, Cantabile," I replied. She nodded and turned to leave.

"Take care, Kairi," she called over her shoulder. Her gait was steady as she walked away, so I guess her leg wasn't bothering her today. Speaking of today, when was it?

I wandered downstairs a little while later and checked the clock. After struggling to read the numbers, I deduced that it was almost four o'clock, so I had slept through most of the day. However…

Holding a hand to my forehead, I smiled. The fever was gone, because I felt normal again. Looks like the sleep was just what I had needed.

I stepped into Nephry's office and looked around. I had dropped that book on fonic artes in here somewhere, but where?

"Oh, you're awake," Nephry said. I looked over at her and smiled.

"Yeah, Cantabile wanted to talk to me before they had to leave, but I'm not complaining about her waking me up. It looks like I was out another eight hours, so… If I go to bed around midnight, I should wake up about my usual time. Always a good thing, right?" I told her. "Any later and my body would be objecting that, actually, so I'm glad she woke me."

Nephry smiled. "Are you feeling better?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yes. I came down here to find that book I was reading the other day. I thought I had left it in here, but did the maids put it up?" I wondered. Nephry's cheeks flushed slightly and she looked a bit embarrassed.

"Well, actually… I saw which of the two alphabets you wrote with in your journal, and… I may have asked a couple of the maids that had nothing better to do to translate the book for you. When you made the comment about wanting to read this morning, I suggested sleeping because I was trying to keep it a surprise… They said they'd be finished before tomorrow morning though," she told me. My eyes widened in surprise.

"You're joking, right?" I asked, shocked. Nephry smiled and shook her head, and I grinned and slipped around the desk to give her a hug. "Thank you!"

Nephry giggled and hugged me back before we let go, and then she looked like she remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot… Sync was asking me about what you liked and whatnot, and while I doubt he got anywhere with that conversation, he did ask me to try to keep you in Keterburg for another week or two. I think he still feels indebted to you," she said.

I crossed my arms. "That's fine. The monsters around here are a welcome challenge, and I'm still missing a few things. That, and I've discovered something that I'd like to investigate, and seeing as how Keterburg is pretty isolated, this area's perfect for experimenting," I replied. Nephry smiled.

"I admit, it'll be nice to have another woman around, other than the maids. They're nice and all, but my husband hired them before his passing, and they can be a bit stiff," she commented. I laughed.

"That's nice," I joked. "Oh well. I came down here to read, so I figure, even if I can't read the book I had been planning on reading, I might as well find something else for the time being…"

Nephry frowned. "Anything in particular you'd like to read about? Because all of the books on the south side of the living room are nonfiction, and most of them are from my brother," she said. I thought about it for a moment.

"Actually… and this is going to sound weird, but from what I've heard about your brother, it's not a ridiculous question, but… You wouldn't happen to have an encyclopedia on monsters, or something of the sort, would you?" I wondered. Nephry sighed.

"Judging from the way you worded that, I'm going to assume that you won't be surprised when I say that yes, I do. You'll need the step-ladder, because it's on the top shelf, but it’s in the far right section. 'Monsters of Auldrant' is the title, I think," she told me. I nodded.

"Okay. I can find that. I know 'm', 'o', and 'a', so it shouldn't be too difficult," I said. "Thanks, Nephry," I added as I wandered over into the living room. Finding the book wasn't hard at all. No, it was large, had big, white lettering, and as I had told Nephry, I had the characters for 'm', 'o', and 'a' memorized, and of course, I knew ‘n’ from the signs on the inns from the game. The 'mon' at the beginning of the title was easily recognized, and I pulled the heavy tome down.

The moment I opened the book up, I was very much pleased, not only with the book, which was pleasing enough as it was, but also with Jade.

Apparently, and I had noticed this in the fonic arte book too, he had a tendency to make notes in the margins off to the side. Sometimes, when the book explanations made no sense, Jade's comments helped me figure out what was being said, and vice versa.

I managed to translate my way through the first section, becoming totally engrossed in what I was reading, until Nephry walked in and tapped me on the shoulder. "Mind having dinner with me, for once?" she teased. I laughed and sat the book down, marking my place by sticking a random piece of paper into it.

Dinner was a quiet affair, and then it was back to the living room to read until about midnight, when I wandered back up to my room. I spotted the journal sitting by my bed and cringed, pulling it over to the fireplace, lighting a fire the same way I had the night before in Sync's room, and then scribbling down about a paragraph.

Then I fell back into bed and fell asleep once more.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Sync and Cantabile... Canonically, we actually have no clue what happened to Cantabile between training Tear and the game events, where she doesn’t exist. So my friend and I have a bit of a head-canon (and somewhere around here, Tea should be posting said head-canon... eventually) regarding these two that goes along the lines of this:_

_Cantabile didn’t approve of the way Van and Mohs treated a months-old Sync, and took the replica under her wing. A few months before the game events started (right_ here _, actually), Cantabile digs Sync out of an avalanche, gets sick, and though she manages to get Sync safely back to Daath, she dies. Sync now not only has to deal with survivor’s guilt, but also has no buffer between him and Mohs & Van. Hence why he’s a jerk in the game._

 _So yeah. Sync_ starts off _a little bit out of character due to how early Kairi gets her hands on him._


	5. Chapter 1.5 - Arrival in Keterburg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another section up, and we're almost done with Chapter 1.

_"More the latter, seeing as how I said it as a joke when he tried to knock me over.” –Kairi_

* * *

I smiled when I woke up the next morning. The window showed that it wasn't yet dawn outside, so after sitting up, stretching and hopping out of bed to start dressing myself, I paused. Something felt… off…

I glanced over at the fireplace. The embers of the fire I had lit the night before were still glowing brightly, so, after placing a few logs from the stack nearby into the hearth, I slipped onto the second plane and messed around with the Energies coming off of the embers. The fire blazed to life once more, and I stared in awe at it.

Why this had caught my attention so completely was beyond me at the time, but I finally managed to tear myself away, standing and heading downstairs. It was early, not quite seven, and while a part of me doubted that Nephry would be up, another part scoffed at the idea that she wouldn't be.

I curled in a chair that was placed near the fire in the living room and pulled out the book on monsters, absently looking over it as I started thinking. What were my friends doing? My parents? They had to be worried about me, and I…

For the first time since I had landed in that snowdrift, fear started to grip my heart. I had people that would be worrying about me, and I was here? Happily playing around when I knew that, if I wanted to be a part of the storyline, I'd be here for more than a year? And that's by the Auldrant calendar, not Earth's. By Earth's, I'd be here for… oh, three years, give or take?

I clutched at the book, closing my eyes and refusing to think about it. No, it wasn't exactly a healthy method of coping, but that was how I had been dealing with my father's cancer. Just pushing it away, trying not to think about it, and refusing to cry.

Thoughts of my father pushed me over the edge, and I gave up fighting. He'd be dead long before I got home, I knew that. I didn't want to admit it, but if I was going to be gone for three years, then he'd definitely be gone by the time I got back.

If I ever got back at all.

"Are you alright, miss?"

I looked up and blinked, then began almost-frantically wiping the tears from my face. "I'm fine," I lied. The maid gave me a sad smile, but didn't push me, instead handing over what, at first, appeared to be two books.

"Missus Nephry asked me to translate this for you. I apologize if my handwriting is a bit sloppy at first, but all of the characters should be correct," she told me. I opened the cover of the first book and smiled at the English characters across the front before flipping through the pages. Yes, the first page was a bit sloppy, but as I skimmed through the book, it became obvious that she had taken a lot of time and care to translate this.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "You did well, though there's the odd letter you mistranslated. That's fine though, you had to guess through it, and I can figure out what the word is supposed to be, so I'm certainly not complaining."

The woman giggled. "Thank you, miss. It was actually rather fun to translate, once I started getting the characters memorized," she told me. I thought for a moment before standing and walking over to the desk in the corner, hoping to find a blank sheet of paper.

"Well, in that case," I started. I waved her over and then gave her a very short lesson on grammar, or rather, the proper use of capitalization. She seemed to enjoy it, and by the time we parted ways, it was nearly eight. I picked up the book on monsters and the translated fonic arte book, and headed toward the dining room, wondering if Nephry was in there.

She was sitting at the table, two breakfasts sat out (though hers was half-gone), and she smiled at me as I walked in. "Arielle seemed to be having fun. You should give her another book to translate in her free time, she'd probably enjoy it," she told me, hinting me in on the fact that she had caught me teaching the maid a bit more about the English Alphabet. I laughed.

"I'll see what I can do," I told her. "So, do we have anything on the agenda today?"

Nephry sighed. "I've got another load of paperwork to finish this morning, but we could do something this afternoon," she offered. "Actually, we should probably try to figure out what else you need before you can leave, too," she added thoughtfully.

I sat down across from her and crossed my arms, thinking quietly to myself for a bit before something rang a note in my mind. "Colored chalks," I said aloud. Nephry blinked and tilted her head. "I don't use normal fonic artes, and for the more complex stuff, I need to draw out the glyphs by hand. Chalks do best," I explained, coming up with an excuse off the top of my head.

Nephry nodded, and I breathed a silent sigh of relief that she bought my lie. I didn't like lying right off the top of my head, but sometimes, it just couldn't be helped.

"We should be able to head into town around one," she told me. I frowned.

"I'll be back by then, no problem," I stated. Nephry's curious look came back, and I could help but blush slightly at the fact that the word 'cute' passed through my thoughts. She's more than ten years older than me! That's _too_ old! I shook my head to get those awkward thoughts out of my mind. "I want to return the clothing and blanket that Sync was wearing," I explained.

"Ah… I was wondering where those came from," Nephry commented. I shrugged.

"It shouldn't take me more than an hour, so I'll be back pretty quick. Anyway, I think I'm going to go do that as soon as I've eaten," I said, beginning to scoop the food in front of me into my mouth. Nephry giggled and stood, her own breakfast finished, before walking off.

About half an hour later, I found myself starting down the trail that led to Dark's cabin. It was quiet, but that was probably a good thing. I was still wearing the dress, see, and while I did have my sword, I didn't especially feel like fighting. I smiled as I spotted the smoke trailing out of the chimney and stopped to knock.

A moment later, a rather bleary-eyed assassin opened the door and yawned. "Yeah, figured it was you. Sync doing okay?" he muttered, stepping aside and gesturing for me to enter. I stepped around him and nodded.

"Yeah, Cantabile took him back to Daath after giving him most of the day to recover a little. I'd have been back yesterday, but I had an extremely minor fever myself and my body was screaming at me anyways, so…" I trailed off, holding the clothing out. Dark shrugged and took it.

"Eh, that's fine. I didn't get back until real late last night, if the obvious fact that I just woke up isn't any indication," he told me before wandering through one of the two doors that led away from the main room.

A soft growl warned me before Koran gently head-butted my back, and I laughed and turned to pet his head. "Good morning to you too," I teased him.

"Did you actually understand that or was it just a lucky guess?" Dark wondered, stepping back out of the other room. I blinked at him for a moment before smiling.

"More the latter, seeing as how I said it as a joke when he tried to knock me over," I replied. Dark chuckled.

"Yeah, he's real good at that. Back when I was still learning the ligers' language, he'd do something like that for phrases like 'good morning', 'good night', 'are you okay', etcetera… And I wasn't very steady on my feet at the time, either," he said, walking over and running a hand through Koran's mane as the liger growled. Dark just smiled, and I sighed.

"Well, I'd love to stay for a while, but I told Nephry I'd be back as soon as I could, because we're going shopping today and I need to write down the stuff I still need," I told him. Dark shrugged.

"Not like you can't come back tomorrow," he replied. "I won't be leaving until Gnomeday, since that's when the next ferry directly to Daath leaves."

I crossed my arms. "I'd probably be going with you if Sync hadn't told Nephry to keep me in Keterburg for another week or two," I stated. Dark shrugged.

"Whatever. Have fun," he commented before walking into the kitchen. Koran growled something at him before shaking his head in exasperation. I just smiled.

"I'll try," I called after the black-haired boy before patting Koran's head again and leaving.

I made it back to Nephry's mansion before ten, so I sighed and headed up to my room, grabbing my journal and heading back down to the living room to write. However, after becoming overly worried and then frustrated, I decided that I'd be better off writing up that list of things I still needed.

Aside from chalks and the more obvious things, something else found its way onto my list, and that was a sketchbook. I'd been typing, but apparently now one of my artistic muses was with me, because my fingers were itching to draw something, anything really.

"I got finished a little faster than I thought I would. Are you ready, Kairi?" Nephry asked as she walked into the room. I looked up at her and smiled.

"Yep. I think I've got everything, but I'm not totally sure. If you think of something you feel I've missed, say something," I told her, handing over my list. Nephry looked through it and then looked down at me as I pulled my boots back on.

"You draw?" she asked. I smiled softly and nodded.

"Yeah, on occasion. Whenever the urge hits me, really, though that's not all that often. Unfortunately, my fingers are currently telling me it's time to doodle, so it slipped onto the list," I replied, standing. "I'm ready!"

Nephry giggled and slipped the list into her pocket. "Alright, let's go," she agreed, and we left the mansion. She led me back toward the shops. "I'm thinking we should start at the items shop, get what we need from there, and then go get the Gels and whatnot from the medicine shop after lunch," she commented. I smiled.

"That sounds nice," I agreed. Nephry giggled and led me toward the items shop. After browsing through the selection for a bit, we bought what we could of the things from the list and headed for the café west of the casino.

I had the sketchbook we had purchased out and was lightly making lines here and there, walking slowly while drawing, and Nephry smiled.

"Try not to run into things," she teased. I looked up at her and smiled.

"Don't worry. As long as I can see and follow you in my peripheral vision, I'm good," I told her before returning to my drawing.

I was polite enough to put the sketchbook away when we reached the café and ordered our food, but I don't think Nephry would have minded anyway.

We left there to go restock on Gels and whatnot before returning home, where I took the book on fonic artes and headed into the back yard, taking care to stay behind the trees, where I wouldn't be immediately obvious to someone looking out from the window.

Once there, I sat down on a relatively dry root and opened the book upside down in my lap. Then I closed my eyes and slipped onto the second plane.

Standing in front of myself, the book was right-side up, and after using a few sun and wind Energies, I managed to flip to the page I wanted and started reading. I definitely wanted to figure this out, because I knew, instinctively, that another spirit Energy would leave me able to actively manipulate Energies while my mind was linked to the physical plane.

Spirit Energies, you see, are special. They aren't like your average Energies, for a few reasons. For one thing, they're extremely rare. For another, spirit Energies are about the size of a baseball, rather than the poppy seeds that the four base Energies (water, fire, earth, and wind) were. Yes, sun and moon Energies were ten times the size of the base Energies, but they were still small compared to spirit Energies.

Spirit Energies aren't like the rest of the Energies that pass through your Energy Core. When you find one, it's yours to keep for as long as you live. More spirit Energies means more control over the Energies around you.

I had six spirit Energies then, which was part of the reason why my control over Energies on the spiritual plane was so extensive. I knew what I wanted to do, but I figured that if I understood more about the fonic arte I was going to try to use, I'd be better off, because this may or may not classify under the category of 'magic'.

If it did, I had no idea how much strength it would take out of me, and that worried me a bit. I was working with a lot of variables, and I certainly didn't want to hurt myself.

I must have spent an hour reading over the one arte, doing whatever I could to make sure that I had everything right, before I stood and turned around. The nice thing about being on the spiritual plane is that no matter how long I sit on my knees, it won't hurt when I stand up.

I took a deep breath and reached out with my mind, nudging here and there against the sun and moon Energies.

I figured, if the sun Energies could move fonons into the area where I needed them, then moon Energies should (only hypothesizing, here) be able to give the fonons form, much like my fire-lighting trick.

I took it nice and slow, poking each and every first fonon I figured I'd need until they were all in place. I knew that at this point, I didn't have the luxury of taking my time. So, setting the sun Energies—and the first fonons with them—into a spin, I started chanting. And all the while I was sending the wave of moon Energies I'd been hanging on to toward the Energy and fonon mass in front of me.

*O twisted door of distortion, open wide!*

The moon Energies hit the mass and I felt the drain on my strength immediately, even as Negative Gate formed (though rather sloppily) on the physical plane.

Once it was all over, I took a deep breath, swaying where I stood even if I was only on the spiritual plane. Yeah, it would take me a while to master that bit of magic.

I slipped back into my body and stood slowly, the hour and a half of sitting on the tree root taking its toll. After taking a moment to stretch, I headed back into the mansion and slipped into the chair I usually sat in. My journal was still sitting on the table with a pen, so after scribbling down my observations, I put it up and pulled the book on fonic artes back out, intending to re-read over the section on Negative Gate to see if there was anything I missed.

I must have used more of my energy than expected, because sometime between then and when Nephry came to get me for dinner, I passed out.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Kairi’s sketchbook, while proving itself handy on occasion, doesn’t get seen very often on-screen. Off-screen, however, it does manage to fill itself up. Sooner or later, I’ll get around to posting the sketchbook’s contents online._


	6. Chapter 1.6 - Arrival in Keterburg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Part of Chapter 1. Yay.
> 
> Now to get Chapter 2 posted.

_"_ You're _the one that just collapsed, and you're asking me if_ I'm _alright?" –Kairi_

_“I'm thinking that Energies have a strange effect on fonons. The fact that my artes are ending up odd colors is proof of that.” -Kairi_

* * *

I was rather sore when I woke up the next morning, and looking around, it was no wonder why.

Apparently no one had seen fit to remove me from the chair while I slept.

I groaned and stood, stretching out my sore muscles and letting a few bones pop back into place. I yawned and looked around, noting that the fire was still blazing, and it was plenty dark out. Maybe it wasn't morning yet?

I frowned and looked up at the clock. No, the clock said it was barely five. Definitely morning, then.

I rolled my eyes and sat down cross-legged in front of the fire. So, I had managed to just barely pull off Negative Gate the day before. I knew I had done something wrong, because not only had it been sloppy, but it had taxed my strength so much… Really, I had expected it to fall under the category of tricks, rather than magic, but…

I took a deep breath to help clear my mind. Sometimes I just needed to slow down and actually think, rather than just assume I was right. I had messed something up, that was obvious. The problem was, what?

I left my mind blank for many minutes before I started to sift through my memories, going through what had happened yesterday bit-by-bit in my mind, trying to see just what I had screwed up.

"Oh… were you down here all night?"

My thoughts snapped into place around my mind, causing me to flinch as I was brought rudely and somewhat painfully back to reality. "I really need a 'meditating – do not interrupt' sign," I grumbled, massaging my temples as if that would help to relieve the headache. Then I looked over my shoulder at Nephry, who was watching me with wide eyes. "Yeah… I was kinda wondering why no one moved me," I told her. She cringed.

"I thought you had just settled down for a nap, so I just assumed that you'd get up and go to bed at some point," she explained. "I apologize for interrupting you, by the way. I didn't realize you were doing anything," she added. I sighed.

"It's fine, I'm just going to have a headache for a bit. That, and I'm kinda used to it, seeing as how Rabecah seems to love interrupting me and Sarah when we're meditating. Shandon doesn't have the patience for it, lucky her, and the boys… Well, boys will be boys," I muttered. Nephry's innocently curious face came back and I groaned mentally. Great, now how to explain those five?

"Friends of yours?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Rabecah and Sarah, and Chris and Shandon, and then Nathan and I wander around on our own. We all just kinda have a tendency to run into each other, usually in forests, never in Keterburg," I told her. She smiled.

"They sound interesting," she said. I rolled my eyes.

"I'd say that's an understatement, but that would be… well, still understating it," I replied. Nephry giggled. "Anyway, if I fall asleep in a chair again, please move me, because I likely won't be waking up until the next morning," I added. She nodded.

"I can do that," she agreed. "So, what's on your schedule for today?"

I sighed. "I'm going to head out and train again for the morning. There's something I'd like to do some more experimenting with this afternoon, hopefully it won't wear me out like it did today," I told her. She nodded.

"Will you join me for breakfast then?" she asked. I smiled.

"Certainly."

And a few hours later, I was doing exactly as I had told Nephry I would be doing… Well, almost. I don't think cursing loudly (and as creatively as I could, which wasn't very creative when I really was pissed) while simultaneously running in circles around seven monsters in an attempt at staying alive really counts as training.

Well, it might, if you considered it to be stamina training for my lungs.

Anyway… Back to the small horde of monsters…

"Stupid, annoying, frustrating, stubborn, idiotic, son, of, a, bitch!" I screamed, accentuating each word with a swing of my sword, my patience (or lack thereof) quickly getting the better of me.

"Ow! Bastard!" I yelled as one of the garuda-class monsters cut across my back. After slashing at it angrily and then running as far away from the mass as I could without leaving the clearing, I started digging around in my bag. I'd left with twenty Apple Gels, so I should still have a few… Right?

"Shit," I muttered, realizing that I was out. And then, taking advantage of my distraction, one of the wolves in the group bit down on my leg.

I screamed, not only in pain, but in frustration as well, and started attacking the monsters, taking little heed of my own physical state until a warm feeling wrapped around me. Looking down, I realized that my wounds had been healed, and after jumping out of the mass of monsters, I chanced a glance over my shoulder.

"Need some help?" Dark teased, pulling out his guns. I smiled.

"It's appreciated," I told him before diving back into the mess, this time with Koran at my side. One by one, the monsters started dying. The first one to do so fell by my blade, and judging from the blood around the wolf's mouth, it had been the one to bite my leg.

The second and third both fell to Koran's claws, and the fourth was shot down by Dark. The last three monsters eyed us warily and started circling.

"Don't let them hit me!" Dark called. I looked over my shoulder to watch him shift into a more defensive position, and I frowned before I saw the glowing glyph that formed beneath his feet.

If he was casting a fonic arte, then covering him was going to become my primary focus, I decided. And, if nothing else, maybe once all this was over, I'd be able to pick his brain and see what I was doing wrong with Negative Gate.

The last of the wolves started to make its way around, aiming for Dark, and after exchanging a glance with Koran, he went after it while I watched the two birds cautiously. They were the smaller kind, like the chirpees. Man did I hate those things…

One of them made to fly past me, and I took my sword in both hands and swung it like a baseball bat. Okay, so it was a little unconventional, but it worked! The bird died!

Whoops, almost forgot about the other one… I ran over to hit it away from Dark, causing it to end up hovering near the wolf as the black-haired boy started chanting.

"Break free, o tainted light, to smite mine enemies!"

I raised an eyebrow. Okay, that's not an arte I recognize.

Dark pointed toward the wolf and bird. "Archangel's Wing!"

I watched in awe as a ball of light grew two wings which then enveloped both monsters, like arms wrapping around someone for a hug. Then they spread wide again and disappeared with a flash, leaving both monsters dead and Dark swaying where he stood.

I smiled and looked over my shoulder. "Neat," I commented, only for my eyes to widen in shock and concern as Dark stumbled backwards and fell. "Are you okay?" I asked, running over to him. Koran's growl echoed me as he slipped behind Dark's back to support him.

"I'm fine. I just pushed it a little farther than I should have," he told me. "Are you alright?"

I frowned. " _You're_ the one that just collapsed, and _you're_ asking me if _I'm_ alright?" I asked incredulously. Dark chuckled nervously.

"Well… Yeah…" he replied. I rolled my eyes and looked myself over quickly.

"Just a few scrapes. Nothing a few days or an Apple Gel can't handle," I told him. He nodded.

"Right." Then, pulling one leg up under him, he braced himself against Koran's shoulder and stood, though rather shakily. "Do you want me to send Koran with you again today? I'd come myself, but…"

I shook my head. "You look like you could use the rest. Besides, I've got something I'd like to pick your brain about later," I told him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

I bit my lip. "I… might be having a few… er… fonic arte troubles?" I said quietly. Dark blinked twice before chuckling.

"We'll see. It could be one of a lot of things, really, so…" he trailed off. Then he turned to Koran. "You go on with her. I can make it back to the cabin on my own. It's not far, and most of the monsters in the area know better than to come after me," he prompted the liger.

Koran nudged him with a soft growl, and Dark chuckled before growling something back and walking off. The liger watched him leave, then turned to me with a growl and a tilt of the head. I shrugged.

"Off to wherever the closest small group of monsters is. I'm out of Apple Gels, and I'm trying to save my Lemons, so I'd rather not get into too many big fights," I told him. He nodded and started sniffing the air, before wandering off in one direction.

I grinned and followed him, happy to be in his company again.

When we returned to Dark's cabin that afternoon, I popped my last Lemon Gel in my mouth before letting my clothes stitch themselves back up. I knocked before opening the door, a warning that we were there.

Koran stepped right over to the pile of branches in the corner, laying down and happily resting after the time out training. Dark stepped out of the kitchen as he did so and grabbed the black coat that was hanging nearby.

"Come on, let's work outside," he prompted. I nodded and followed him back out, and he crossed his arms as we sat on a fallen log not far from the cabin. "So, you said earlier you were having fonic arte troubles?" he began.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I said simply, trying to figure out how to explain it. Dark… I trusted him. More than I trusted Nephry, almost. And besides, if I was going to figure this out, he was going to need to know the truth.

Or at least, part of it.

"Dark… I guess I should go backwards a ways. This might not make sense at first, but you need to know if you're going to help me figure this out," I started. Then I took another deep breath. "There are two sources of life in this world. Fonons, which you already knew about… and Energies."

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Okay…" he said slowly.

"The ability to support life and their alignments with specific elements are where the similarities between fonons and Energies end, unfortunately. Energies… they act different, not like fonons at all," I continued.

Dark sighed. "What's this got to do with your fonic artes?" he asked bluntly. I smiled sadly.

"Everything," I said simply, looking up at him. "I don't have fonslots, Dark. I never have," I told him, watching as his eyes widened in shock. "I'd given up all hope of ever being able to use fonic artes, and settled for learning to control Energies instead… except…"

"You found a way to use fonic artes without fonslots?" he asked incredulously.

I sighed. "I can use Energies to corral and control fonons, to the point where I did manage, though rather sloppily, to cast Negative Gate when I tried experimenting with it yesterday. Unfortunately… Well, using Energies that way is exhausting, even though I'm almost certain it shouldn't be taking that much out of me," I replied.

Dark frowned. "I'm not sure how much help I can be then," he said. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I figure, if I do it right, the fonons should react the way they would when any normal fonist is casting an arte, which should severely reduce the strain against my body," I explained. The boy crossed his arms.

"I suppose I could walk you through it step by step, but you'd have to figure out what you're doing with the Energies on your own," he said. I nodded.

"Give me a moment to poke around with the Energies and then we can start," I told him, settling into a more comfortable position and closing my eyes. Dark watched me curiously, and as I slipped onto the second plane I took a moment to think. It would be difficult—not impossible, but very difficult—to control the Energies I needed without being on this plane.

I had just started gathering sun Energies when an odd pink glow caught my eye and I gasped, my shock sending my spirit careening back into my body.

My eyes snapped open as I stood and ran over to where I had seen the pink glow. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes again, and felt around myself with my spirit, not actually slipping out of my body. Now, where did it go?

I grinned as I felt my soul connect with the pink mass that was, at that time, floating right behind me. Any later, and I would have run right through it, though that would have done the trick just as well.

I opened my eyes and grinned. Everything seemed to have a soft glow, and I wandered back toward Dark, who was still sitting, though now rather confused, on the log. I held my hand out as I walked, watching in slight awe as a golden glow amassed around that hand. Sun Energies…

I looked over at Dark, a grin firmly in place on my face. "Well, that will certainly help," I told him. He raised an eyebrow, a silent question. I sighed. "Well, you know how there are seven fonons? There are seven Energies too, but one of them is really rare. Spirit Energies also help in manipulating other Energies, and I just ran to grab one before it floated off," I explained. He nodded, the confusion gone.

"Alright, then are you ready to try it again?" he asked. I nodded eagerly and he stood. "Start by drawing the fonons you'll need around you. Since you don't have fonslots, you'll just have to use the Energies to keep them nearby until they're ready to be used," he said. I nodded and, clasping my hands to my chest, began to focus on pushing sun Energies into corralling the first fonons I needed. I knew what I wanted to do, I knew how I wanted it to happen, the problem was getting it to work.

As the sun Energies began pulling the first fonons into place, an odd emerald glow around my feet caught my eye and my concentration broke, causing the glow to disappear and the dissipating Energies to take their toll on my strength. I blinked in surprise.

"Your concentration broke," Dark stated. I nodded numbly. Dark sighed. "Come on, try again. Try not to lose your focus this time," he prompted. I looked up at him in surprise before shaking my head to clear it and starting again. This time, I noticed something.

The moment the green glow beneath my feet started up, the first fonons became much more cooperative. I frowned and pulled more around, as quickly as I could without risking them flying all over the place.

Dark was standing nearby, and he looked like he was gauging something, likely the number of fonons I had managed to collect. He nodded after a short while and pointed to what looked like it had been a fire. "Focus over there now, and shift the fonons into place before you set them into a rotation. You should be doing that while you're chanting the fonic verse," he ordered.

I nodded calmly and gathered the moon Energies where I needed the arte to land before taking a deep breath. "O twisted door of distortion, open wide!" The fonons shifted with barely any prompting from the sun Energies, and they took only a few of the moon Energies before the dark vortex began to open up. I threw my hand out toward the mass, willing them to form into the full arte. "Negative Gate!"

The swirling orb of oddly green darkness unleashed its full fury on the empty space, and I crossed my arms with a frown. Why had it gone so easily this time? I wasn't nearly as exhausted, and I still had no idea what I had done wrong…

Wait a second…

I looked down at my feet in shock. "Oh…" I breathed. Dark crossed his arms and looked at me curiously.

"Figure out what you're doing wrong?" he asked. I blinked at him owlishly.

"That was a fonic glyph," I mumbled, pointing to the ground. He stared at me for a moment before lowering his head and rubbing his forehead.

"Did you try to skip the whole 'gather the fonons to yourself' step before?" he asked. I bit my lip, knowing well that I was blushing profusely.

"I might have…" I replied. Dark sighed and brushed his bangs out of his face, only for them to fall back again. "So, uh… you mind if I practice out here for a little bit?" I asked. Dark shrugged.

"I might as well sit out here and watch… Though… I have to admit, I've never seen a green fonic glyph. Blue, violet, white, and every shade in-between, but never green," he said. I shrugged.

"Don't look at me. Actually… Now that you mention it, Negative Gate seemed a bit green too," I commented. He crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest tree.

"Interesting…" he muttered. "Try using an arte that's a different fonon," he ordered. I thought for a moment. I didn't want to try using any high-level artes in case that ended in disaster, but…

I started pulling the Energies around me again, though this time they were corralling fourth fonons. Once the green glow started around my feet again, they came much more easily, and I smiled. It would take a bit of practice, and maybe another spirit Energy or two, but I had a feeling that I'd have no problems doing this on the battlefield eventually.

Once I was certain that I had enough fonons, I prepared to let the arte loose. Again, the fonons only took a few of the moon Energies I offered them, and I smiled as I began chanting. "O violent torrent!" The fonons shifted, ready to move at a moment's notice. "Splash!"

The water that drenched the would-have-been fireplace was decidedly off-color, more a shade of violet than blue, but some spots did appear blue, and some seemed pink. I raised an eyebrow.

"You know… I'm thinking that Energies have a strange effect on fonons. The fact that my artes are ending up odd colors is proof of that," I told Dark before a wave of dizziness hit me and I stumbled.

"Yeah… You okay?" he asked. I nodded, bracing myself against a tree as a second wave of dizziness threatened to topple me over.

"I'll be fine. This is normal when Energies don't feel like being completely cooperative," I told him. He watched me cautiously, as if worried that I might suddenly fall over and die (as if!). "I'm going to head home now. It's late and my bed is calling me rather loudly."

Dark nodded. "Alright. Be careful," he warned before walking into his cabin again. I wandered back down the trail and toward Nephry's manor, a grin firmly in place the entire way.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Ah, the befuddlement begins... It’s always so funny watching people’s reactions to Kairi’s off-colored artes._

_Just as a note:_

_1_ st Fonons- Green  
2nd Fonons- Yellow (a sulfur color, really)  
3rd Fonons- Purple  
4th Fonons- Pink  
5th Fonons- Blue  
6th Fonons- Silver


	7. Chapter 2.1 - The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's Chapter 2. I'd planned to be on part 36 by now, but... -sheepish look at the low number of chapters posted- At least it's all written already.

_"If it's called the 'end-of-year ball', then that implies that it's at the end of the year, which, and please, correct me if I'm wrong, is still four and a half months away.” -Kairi_

* * *

I blinked.

Where was I again? A quick glance around answered that question.

I remember now. Nephry's mansion.

Then I frowned. How did I get here?

Oh, right. Snowdrift, Nephry, spending the night, shopping the next day, training in the forest… Everything went through my head in a blur, not slowing in the least until the events of the day before started rolling across my eyes.

Casting fonic artes using the Energies at my control, nearly collapsing on the way home from the pure exhaustion of manipulating the Energies on the physical plane. Managing to make it to the dining room, talking to Nephry, eating…

And then nothing.

I blinked again. Had I… fallen asleep? At the dinner table?

I let out a huff of air. Okay, neither funny, nor helpful. At least this time, they had moved me to my bed.

A light knock at the door caught my attention, and I glanced out the window with a frown. The sky was light, and I could just barely see the sun peeking over the mountains. Wow, was I really that late waking up?

"Miss Kairi? Missus Nephry sent me to see if you were awake," a voice called out. I frowned. That voice sounded familiar… Oh, it was that maid that had translated the book on fonic artes for me! What was her name again?

"Come on in, Arielle," I called in reply. The blonde woman stuck her head into the door and looked over at me. "It's alright, I don't bite… hard."

She blinked a coupled of times as I smiled before relaxing and stepping into the room, apparently deciding that I was joking. "Are you feeling alright? Missus Nephry was worried when you fell asleep at the table last night," Arielle asked. I sighed.

So, I really had decided to leave the waking world during dinner. Wonderful. "I'm fine, I just over-exerted myself trying to learn to do something yesterday," I told her. "Nothing new there." Then I sighed. "Is my journal still sitting in the living room?"

Arielle giggled. "Yes, right on the table next to the chair you fell asleep in yesterday," she replied. I shrugged.

"At least I wasn't left at the table this time," I said. She blushed.

"Sorry. I'll make sure you get moved next time, Miss Kairi," she told me. I frowned.

"You're welcome to cut it out with the 'miss' thing, Arielle. I'm not used to the formality and I don't especially appreciate it," I stated. The blonde woman blushed again.

"My apologies, mi—Kairi."

I rolled my eyes. "Ah well. We'll get there eventually… Now…" I trailed off, looking around my room. Yes, I could safely call it my room now. Let's see, sketchbook over there… one gray boot in that corner, another gray boot in this corner… I had to wonder how that had happened… Oh hey, both of my brown boots were sitting side by side at the end of the bed!

Of course, that was probably the result of the maids having taken them off of my feet… I frowned. Hmm… Where had I put…?

Oh, over there, hanging on the edge of the wicker basket!

I slipped my legs out from under the covers and wandered over to the basket to grab my dress. "Arielle, do you know if Nephry has anything really planned for today?" I asked. The blonde frowned.

"She said she wanted to talk to you about something, but I'm not sure what. She got a letter this morning, I'm not sure who from, but that seemed to have most of her attention when I spoke to her. You'll have to ask her, I'm afraid," she told me. I shrugged and pulled the green top off to slip the dress into its place.

"Yes, I suppose I will," I muttered, pulling myself out of my pants once the dress had fallen into place. Arielle left, and after collecting up a pair of socks and the gray boots that had ended up on opposite ends of the east wall (still trying to figure that one out), I wandered down to the dining room.

"Back in the world of the living, I see," Nephry teased as I walked in. I smiled

"Yep. Not planning on falling asleep so early again tonight either. Of course, my plans usually never go far anyway, but… oh well," I replied. She giggled.

"Well, I hope you can at least stay awake long enough to read this," she said, handing over an envelope that had obviously been opened. I took it and looked over it. It was addressed to Nephry, so why…?

I frowned as I sat in my customary seat across from her, gently tugging the paper within from its casing and unfolding it.

The first line caused me to raise my eyebrow.

' _Would you give this to Kairi, please? I wanted to make sure this would get to her.'_

I skimmed over the letter quickly, noting that the name signed at the bottom was Sync's. Hmm…

After reading over the letter twice (it was obvious the first time through that Sync had pretty much no idea what he was doing writing a letter), I smiled and folded it up, resisting the urge to laugh at the poor boy. Cantabile must have been pressuring him quite a bit for him to actually write that letter and then send it.

Nephry noticed the look on my face, and we exchanged a look before giggling. "Tell me if I'm wrong, but did I catch a hint of Cantabile nudging in there?" she asked. I threw my head back and actually laughed.

"Poor kid. He's probably never even written a real letter before," I said. Nephry held up a hand to hide (or at least, attempt to hide) her giggles.

"Which leaves me to wonder what you're going to do," she stated after we had both calmed down. I sighed with a smile.

"Eh, I was already considering heading to Daath. Might as well just go and see if I can diffuse the situation before it gets any more…" I trailed off, not quite sure which adjective to use. Nephry smiled.

"Awkward?" she supplied. I shrugged.

"Not quite as creative as I was hoping for, but it'll do," I replied. She laughed, and I sighed. "So… What are we doing today? I feel like giving my body a break from all the hell I've been putting it through the last couple of days. What about you?"

Nephry smiled. "I could use a mental break from all the paperwork. Why don't we wander around town for the day?" she suggested. I grinned.

"Sounds like a plan to me," I agreed. She giggled.

"Well, we'll have to have breakfast in, but that's because I'd rather not upset the cooks. Speaking of which…" she trailed off as Arielle and another maid walked in, carrying our breakfasts. I grinned and started in on mine, managing to finish before Nephry, which was actually a first for us, since she was usually the first done. I laughed.

"I'm gonna go write up a bit on what I was working on last night while you finish up breakfast," I commented, standing and wandering into the living room.

Just as Arielle had said, my journal was sitting on the table next to the chair I liked, and after writing for a bit, I looked up to see Nephry waiting on me. I smiled and scribbled down one last sentence before closing the journal, sitting it back on the table, and standing.

"Where to first?"

Nephry laughed and we left the mansion. We spent a couple hours window-shopping before she managed to drag me into a boutique, her excuse being that of 'wanting to know what kind of dress to send you when you need something formal'. I called it 'wanting to play dress-up', but it wasn't like I was really objecting all that much. I loved semi-formal and formal dresses, really I did, I just rarely got to wear any.

"Ooh, I think this one would look nice," Nephry commented. I turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"On Arielle, maybe. It'd clash with the orange in my hair," I told her. The dress in question was pink, see.

Nephry lowered it so that she could see around, then held it up as if playing with a paper doll before frowning. "You're right, the pink and orange wouldn't work well," she agreed. I nodded.

"Yeah. No pink," I said simply. She went back to wandering around, while I looked through the colors I liked—dark blue, emerald green, black, burgundy—and tried to find a style that I felt suited me.

I heard Nephry inhale sharply and looked over at the gown (I really couldn't call it anything less) that she was now looking at. And I must admit, it was beautiful. Nephry looked over at me and held it up like she had with the pink dress earlier. "It's perfect!" Nephry cried. I chuckled at her enthusiasm, only to cry out in surprise as she drug me off toward the dressing rooms.

"Eek, Nephry! I can walk on my own, thanks!" I joked. She laughed and shoved the gown into my arms.

"Try it on!" she cheered. I laughed. Any more enthusiastic and she'd be jumping around like a teenager… Wait, wasn't I supposed to be the teenager here?

That thought just spurred on more laughter as I gave in and stepped into the small changing room. Slipping the green dress off was easy, but now to get into this gown…

I pulled it on and managed to at least partially tighten the ties in the back of the corset-style top (not easy, which anyone who has ever worn a corset will know). After twirling a bit to smooth out the layered skirt, I stepped back out to a nearly-squealing Nephry.

"Oh my gosh, that's perfect!" she cried. I rolled my eyes.

"And what am I going to wear it to?" I asked sarcastically. She looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, you could come to the end-of-year ball that the Ladies' Society hosts every year in the hotel ballroom," she replied. I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

"If it's called the 'end-of-year ball', then that implies that it's at the _end_ of the year, which, and please, correct me if I'm wrong, is still four and a half months away," I told her. She scowled.

"Oh, spoil-sport. Come on, admit it! It's beautiful!" she grumbled, holding her hands out toward me. I looked down at myself and sighed.

"Yeah, it is," I agreed. "Now… how about I get this back off and we go do something that doesn't involve arguing over colors?" I suggested.

So of course, we ended up in a bakery next, where Nephry was, predictably, fawning over the beautifully iced cakes.

"I think this one is just adorable!" she cheered, pointing to a white-iced cake with pink and yellow flowers on it. I raised an eyebrow.

"I think I'm noticing a pattern here," I commented, pointing to the pink icing around the edges. Nephry looked down at it and then blushed, and I giggled. "Someone's got a soft spot for the color pink, then."

Nephry sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. "Yeah…" she admitted shyly. I smiled.

"That's fine. I don't mind pink myself, but… personally…" I trailed off, wandering over to a different cake. It was iced similarly, but not the same, and I pointed to a light orange flower. "Soft oranges like that are my soft spot."

Nephry giggled. "Wait, weren't we trying to get away from colors?" she asked. I just laughed.

"I think I gave up when you walked in here. It smells so good…" I trailed off, taking a deep breath. Nephry started giggling again, and the next thing we knew, the two of us, still in fits of giggles, were being ushered out of the bakery by its chuckling owner.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So... In the very first version of ARitA, Kairi only stayed in Keterburg for the equivalent of a few hundred words. In the second version, it was a few thousand, at most._

_We’re not inching up on the 25k word mark, and Kairi’s STILL not out of Keterburg._

_For someone who hates the cold, this is really pushing her patience to the limits._


	8. Chapter 2.2 - The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously all of Chapter 2 is going up at once. Chapters 3 & 4, two of the longest chapters in the book, won't be so lucky.

_Yes, I did have a mouth, and no, I was not supposed to be emulating a fish with it. -Kairi_

* * *

"I still can't believe you're leaving tomorrow! It's been so wonderful having another woman around," Nephry stated. I sighed. The last two days had been blurs of the two of us running around town enjoying ourselves, and now, the day before I was going to leave, we were sitting at Nephry's favorite café, drinking coffee while waiting on our breakfast to arrive.

"Yeah, but… I'm starting to feel a bit cooped up. I don't usually stick around a place this long, though I really do appreciate everything you've done for me, Nephry," I told her. She smiled sadly and fiddled around with the handle of her mug for a bit.

"Kairi… I understand that it may not always be easy, traveling on your own, without a family or a home to return to…" she started. Then she took a deep breath. "If you ever need to just stop for a while, my home is open to you. And you're welcome to use either of my surnames, be it my maiden or my married name."

I must have blinked five times before I finally remembered that, yes, I did have a mouth, and no, I was not supposed to be emulating a fish with it.

Nephry giggled when she finally looked up and saw my face. "Ah… Thank you?" I said, though it really came out as more of a question. The older woman held a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggles while I continued to slip and stumble my way toward finding my mental footing.

About an hour later, after laughing over our breakfasts, paying the bill, and leaving the café, I smiled. "Nephry… Really, thank you. You've been so kind to me, and… Well… I've come to think of you as an older sister," I told her. She smiled.

"I think, after growing up with Jade, what I really needed was someone I could share at least a part of my childhood with," she replied. "So, I suppose there's no arguing it anymore. You are now my little sister."

I giggled as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I slipped mine behind her back. "Kairi Balfour and Nephry Osborne, sisters in heart if not by blood," I agreed.

Nephry and I grinned over that one all the way to the tailor's shop. Why the tailor's shop? Well, remember that we had an outfit on order?

We stepped in and Nephry smiled as the seamstress from the week before walked over to greet us before pulling a box out. She and Nephry let me take the outfit into the changing rooms, and I smiled as I slipped it on piece by piece.

It was a blue and black outfit, which was a nice change to the greens of my dress and other outfit. A blue, midriff-baring tank top went on first, followed by the pants. Blue flame designs contrasted against the black that hugged my hips snuggly. Looser bottoms allowed my to slip black boots on underneath easily before I started pulling gloves on.

Wrapped around my right arm already was a blue armlet that I had bought the day before, and the right glove only reached to my elbow. The left glove went up about as high as the armlet did on my right arm.

The thing about the armlet was, I had started weaving magic into the crystal that was neatly wrapped up in its weaving. It would act as an Energy stabilizer for me, which was something I desperately needed if I was going to be using Energies on the battlefield.

Then I slipped my hair up from its ponytail into a bun before pulling the black coat on. The coat was similar in style to that which Tear wears for her 'Cool Chick' outfit in the game. Similar, but not the same, as the neck of it came up higher and it covered more of my shoulders. It also split just above where the bottom edge of the tank top ended, leaving a bit of blue peeking out.

I smiled and slipped a second belt, this one blue (the first was a brown one to keep my pants where they belonged) into place over my hips. Then, after taking a moment to look over myself and slipping my dress and gray boots into the wing pack Nephry had bought me yesterday, I turned and stepped out of the changing room. I was tying my sword into place as I heard Nephry gasp.

"Oh my gosh, you look…" she trailed off. I sighed and rolled my eyes theatrically. "Oh, don't give me that look. You're my little sister, I'll fawn over you if I want," she scolded teasingly. I laughed and held my arms out for a moment before spinning.

"I think it suits me," I told her. She smiled and nodded, and the seamstress giggled.

"It's really nice," she agreed. I looked over at Nephry, who had a mischievous grin on her face.

"You know where we're going next, don't you?" the woman who was now my older sister asked. I crossed my arms with a slight frown.

"Where?" I wondered. I hadn't been aware of us having anything else on the agenda for today…

"I'm sure it'd be easier to hunt your dinner with a bow… unless you'd rather try it with a sword, of course," she replied, and my eyes widened in surprise. Oh yeah… I'd forgotten about that…

Nephry giggled at the look on my face, and I ran a hand through my bangs in embarrassment. "Yeah, it would be," I agreed.

So, of course, the next stop was the weapon's shop again.

"Well, well, well! It's the girly with the sword skills again!" the shop owner cried jokingly. I laughed.

"The 'girly with the sword skills' is my little sister now, Barst," Nephry teased.

Barst feigned shock. "No, you adopted her?!" he replied. I shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. I think I adopted her first," I told him. He threw his head back and laughed.

"So, what can I do for you ladies today?" he asked, finally getting back to business. I looked over at the wall where the bows were and walked over, looking over each one before lifting one from its hooks and taking a step back from the wall.

My left hand wrapped around the bow and lifted it as my right index and middle fingers slipped into place against the string. In a single smooth motion, I drew my right arm back, smiling to myself slightly as I looked down my left arm.

Relaxing my right arm (dry firing—letting go of the bow string in full draw when there isn't an arrow nocked—is bad for a bow), I looked over at Barst, a grin now in place.

"Got a target?" I asked. He laughed and pointed to a set of dummies along the back wall before walking over with a mostly-full quiver of arrows. I took three, holding two of them against the bow with my left hand while I nocked the third and drew the bow again, barely taking the time to aim before firing.

The arrow landed cleanly in the chest of the humanoid target, but I was already grabbing the waiting end of one of the arrows I had in my left hand, slipping it into place, drawing again, and letting it fly as well.

This arrow landed in the dummy's gut, off to one side slightly, and after repeating the process one last time, the third arrow landed in the dummy's head. I grinned.

"Heart, kidney, and head. He is definitely dead," I announced. Barst laughed, and Nephry's giggles reached me even from the other side of the room.

"That he is," Barst agreed. "How about you go collect those arrows while Nephry and I get this wrapped up?" he suggested. I shrugged and headed over to the dummy I had used as a target, pulling the arrows out one by one.

As I walked over, Barst looked over at me. "Brown, black, or white shafts?" he asked. I frowned and looked down at the bow. It was made of a beautiful brown wood, with silver ends and a white bowstring. I smiled.

"White shafts," I decided. Barst nodded.

"What color quiver?"

"Brown."

"White fletching or brown?"

"Brown again."

Nephry smiled. "Interesting combination," she commented. I shrugged.

"Well, I didn't want brown shafts, and I think my clothes have the color black covered for me, hence the white shafts. The brown quiver should go with pretty much anything. And besides, it's Keterburg. If the arrow shafts are white, I don't want white fletching or I'll lose the damn things in the snow!" I told her. Barst laughed.

"Well, unless you break them, you won't have to worry about chasing these down. There's a fonic glyph on the shafts that will return them to their quiver," he explained. I nodded.

"That'll be a nice change from having to chase them down," I said. Nephry giggled.

"Want to go out and train for a bit?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'll be back before dinner," I promised, slipping the bow around my torso. She hugged me before I waved over my shoulder and left, heading back north. I was about halfway to the gate out of Keterburg when I decided that stopping to visit Dark and talking Koran into coming out with me would be a good idea.

I had just stepped out of the town when I realized that Dark and I would both being leaving for Daath the next day. With that thought in mind, I took off at a jog for his cabin.

It seemed deserted when I arrived, though.

"Looking for something?"

I jumped and turned around, my hand on my sword instinctively, before sighing in relief. "Try not to sneak up on me like that, please?" I groaned. Dark smirked.

"What's the matter? Jumpy?" he joked. I rolled my eyes.

"I was looking for you, actually," I said, ignoring his comment. "I'm going to Daath tomorrow, too."

The assassin leaned against a tree nearby and crossed his arms. "It would probably be better if we weren't seen together once we get there. Notoriously annoying gossips, those people," he replied. "But it'll be nice to have the human company on the way there."

Koran growled, and Dark smirked again. "Koran wants to know if you were planning on going to train today," he relayed. I grinned and pulled the bow from my back.

"I need to practice with this for a bit, so I suppose the answer to that is 'yes'. And, assuming that I'm guessing correctly, the answer to the next question is also 'yes'," I told them. Koran let out a barking laugh, and Dark chuckled.

"In that case, we'll join you," he replied. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Need a little target practice yourself?" I teased. He rolled his eyes.

"This is going to be interesting, at least," he grumbled, walking off into the forest. Koran and I exchanged a glance before we both started laughing. I followed after Dark quickly, Koran running past us to spot potential targets.

It was mid-afternoon when we decided that we were sick of chasing down monsters and ended up returning to Dark's cabin. He had a few last-minute things to pack, anyway, and I had some reading up I wanted to do.

"Got that memorized yet?" Dark joked as he joined me outside on the fallen log again. I smirked.

"That line really doesn't suit you," I commented, drawing a curious look from the dark-haired assassin.

"Oh?"

I chuckled. "Well for one thing, you don't have wildly spiky red hair, and one of your eyes is gold," I told him. He sat down and crossed his arms, silently demanding an explanation. "There's this guy named Axel, red hair and green eyes, and his catch phrase is 'Got it memorized?'" I paused and frowned. "Rhyming not intentional," I added.

Dark laughed. "He sounds like fun."

I shrugged. "He's an assassin too," I threw in. Then I looked back down at the book and sighed. "And about this," I started, gesturing randomly at the page in front of me. I ran my hand through my bangs with a frown. "There's info on how to do Crimson Riot without a field of fonons."

Dark nodded. "Basically, you're just pulling in the fonons from the base arte, plus the fonons from whatever kind of field of fonons you need. The ratio is the fun part though," he said. I sighed.

"Yeah, it says here that depending on the fonist, the ratio of fifth fonons to first fonons for Crimson Riot can fluctuate between 1:2 and 1:4. That's why I'm reading over it so carefully. At least if I screw up the ratio, I can avoid screwing up anything else," I replied.

Dark smirked. "Well, if it fluctuates from 1:2 to 1:4, why don't we start in the middle?" he suggested. I grinned.

"One to three it is then," I agreed, closing the book after looking over the incantation one last time. Anise's incantations for her field of fonon changes weren't the incantations for the artes themselves, unfortunately, not that I remembered what Anise used for Crimson Riot all that clearly. 'Don't blame me if you're burnt to bits!' I think.

I stood and started nudging sun Energies. Having done this a few times, I already had an idea as to what I was doing, and once the first fonons started getting into place, I started pulling in fifth fonons.

Apparently, they like me, because they came faster than I expected them to, and I actually had to let a few of them slip back around the sun Energies. Then, treating the mass of fonons like I would Negative Gate, I started chanting quietly. "O demonic gate, burn to ashes those who would approach!"

As the flames, turned a vibrant but eerie shade of blue by the Energies, began to take hold in the physical world, I focused the rest of the fonons in that area. "Crimson Riot!"

Dark frowned. "You think maybe the fonons would object to you renaming that to Sapphire Riot? Because really, Crimson Riot doesn't fit when the flames turn blue," he said. I huffed in mild annoyance and looked down, then raised an eyebrow.

"Well, blue flames certainly fit, all things considered," I replied. Dark looked over and smirked when he realized that my pants had the blue flame designs on them. Then I crossed my arms and looked over to where the arte had landed.

There were a few things running through my head at that point, and I wanted to try them all out at once, which usually is never a good thing.

I started gathering up fonons again, keeping to the one-to-three ratio I'd used before as I put the moon Energies in place. "O demonic gate, burn to ashes!" I chanted. The fonons answered me as readily as they had the first time, and I could feel that my intentions would go over just as well as the shortened fonic verse.

"Sapphire Riot!"

I smirked as the fonons reacted exactly the way they had before, and then looked over at Dark. "No, I don't think they mind too badly," I told him. He chuckled and shook his head before pointing at the sky.

"Well, on that happy note… You'd best get back to Keterburg," he stated. I sighed, realizing that the sun would be dropping beyond the horizon soon. "Koran and I will be heading out from here at dawn, but we'll be taking the long way around Keterburg to get to the port. We'll be waiting south of the city about… Oh eight-thirty? The ferry leaves at ten, so…"

I smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be there," I promised, picking up my book and running back to Keterburg. No offense to Nephry, but I was getting sick of this place. It would be nice to finally be somewhere else, somewhere a bit warmer, too. Not to mention greener…

I rolled my eyes at myself and made a comment out loud that I should stop grumbling.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _And so Sapphire Riot is added to Kairi’s permanent arte set. This is one of her signature artes, mostly due to the blue flames, which is her signature in general. (I’m sure it’s obvious why.)_


	9. Chapter 2.3 - The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta love mass-updating...

_“Cocky, smartass assassin and all... Next group of customers?” -Kairi_

* * *

I grinned and raced out of Keterburg, Nephry's words still firmly in my mind. She had asked me to check in on her… well, I suppose _our_ brother, now… Anyway, Nephry wanted me to stop in Grand Chokmah, so that was where I was planning on heading after I was done in Daath. But, it was early, not even eight yet, and the excitement of actually getting to leave finally was getting to me.

In hindsight, probably not a great idea, but oh well.

"Hey, watch out for that monster," Dark called out jokingly as Koran came running, intending to tackle me to the ground. I just laughed and jumped out of the way, grabbing onto the liger's tail as he ran past and getting pulled along a ways. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me, as if asking why I had grabbed on. I just grinned and held on, and the liger rolled his eyes.

"So… Shall we be heading for the ferry?" Dark suggested. I nodded and finally released Koran's tail.

"Yeah, might as well," I agreed. I was about to turn away when he drew a gun and pointed with it, off to the side.

"Hey, look. Our first group of customers," he joked. I turned and grinned, drawing my bow and letting an arrow fly even as Koran charged for the wolves. Dark and I, having the long-range weapons, kept our focus on the flying enemies.

We managed to finish them off rather quickly, and once we did, I frowned and turned to Dark. "You're treating me differently," I noted. His face flushed and he ran a hand through his loose hair.

"Uh… Well… Er…" he muttered. I shrugged.

"I don't mind, seeing as how you're not being extremely rude toward me anymore, but… I was just curious about the sudden change. I mean, you were still holding me at an arms' length yesterday," I told him. He sighed and put his gun away.

"After you left last night, Koran… Well, he started grumbling about the way I was treating you, and I…" he trailed off for a moment before crossing his arms. "I'm not used to being around other people anymore. My old… family… I left years ago. It's been just me and Koran since then."

I sighed. "Dark… Really, I didn't mind it all that much before, once you stopped being outright rude… Honestly, don't worry about me, because I'd be more upset with you for trying to be someone you aren't around me," I told him. He looked up at me out of the corners of his eyes and let a slight smile—yes, an actual smile—slip onto his face.

"Assassin and all?" he asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Cocky, smartass assassin and all," I replied. He threw his head back and laughed at that one before a warning growl from Koran caught our attention. I pulled a few arrows from my quiver. "Next group of customers?"

Dark pulled out both guns this time and smirked. "Yup!" I laughed and started firing, bringing down one of the flying enemies within only a few moments. Dark, likewise, brought down an enemy that landed on the head of a wolf, which was then killed by Koran. I laughed and slipped my bow back onto my back before charging at the wolves myself, sword swinging through the air.

We continued on like that, fighting any monsters that came at us, until we reached the port. I had been switching rather erratically between my sword and bow, but Dark stopped me once we were standing on the deck of the ferry.

"You didn’t use any fonic artes," he commented. I sighed and shook my head.

"I'm still not comfortable trying to control that many Energies in that stressful an environment without a fully functioning stabilizer," I explained. "But I was planning on using the time on the ferry to finish it up."

Dark raised an eyebrow. "Stabilizer?" he wondered. I rolled my eyes.

"I have a tendency to lose control of the Energies I'm trying to manipulate, resulting in an Energy backlash that… well, hurts me and anyone around me," I explained. "Hence, the reason why I didn't even know it was possible to control fonons using Energies until quite recently. In fact, it was an Energy backlash that alerted me to the fact."

Dark nodded solemnly. "I'll go claim a cabin, since we won't be getting to Daath until tomorrow morning. Why don't you spend the time practicing at the back of the ferry?" he suggested. "I'll come get you when it's time to eat."

I ran a hand through my bangs. "If I'm not asleep by then," I muttered. Dark laughed, apparently not believing that I could do such a thing.

I wandered back to the area he had suggested, but rather than starting in on my artes first thing, I took a moment to scribble down a journal entry. Once I had done that, I pulled out my book on Fonic Artes so that I could read up on Icicle Rain. I hadn't gotten the time to do this yesterday, so I was going to do it today.

I nodded to myself sometime after the ferry had departed and stood, using Energies to poke the fourth and second fonons I needed into place. Icicle Rain needed a 1:6 or higher ratio of second to fourth fonons, so collecting up the second fonons was easy.

Once I had the fonons I needed, I put the mass of moon Energies where I needed them and started chanting. "O frigid blades, pour forth!" The fonons shifted, taking some of the moon Energies with them. "Icicle Rain!"

I frowned as the arte was unleashed. I could feel the drain on my strength from the Energies, this time mostly from the moon Energies, and I realized that I had lost more to Icicle Rain than Negative Gate, Sapphire Riot, or Splash had taken.

Maybe I'd gotten the ratio wrong? I was doing everything else right, wasn't I? And besides, it did say that the ratios for artes that were normally fields-of-fonons artes varied, depending on the fonist.

I sighed and started collecting up fonons again, this time going with a one-to-seven ratio. I set everything up and chanted the fonic verse again, unleashing the arte upon the deck once more.

I groaned as a wave of dizziness washed over me once it was complete. It had been easier on my body this time, but it still wasn't going as smoothly as the other artes. I huffed in frustration and tried again, increasing the number of fourth fonons once more.

After unleashing the arte and trying once more at a one-to-nine ratio, I grinned, having finally found the right ratio that would keep the Energies from sapping too much of my strength.

Speaking of which…

"Uhn… Whoa!" I cried, yet another wave of dizziness finally succeeding in knocking me over.

Someone caught me before I really hit the ground. "Careful!"

I blinked a couple of times, focusing on taking deep breaths as the strain on my body threatened to send me under.

Long blue hair and silver eyes swam in my vision, and I blinked in confusion. "Who… are you?" I muttered.

"Reighn Aurelius. You?" the man replied. I shook my head a bit to clear it and slowly sat up. The man couldn't have been much older than Guy, and his long blue hair wasn't the only thing blue about him. His entire outfit was either blue, silver, or black, and there was only a little bit of the last one.

"Ah… I'm Kairi. Kairi Balfour," I told him finally. He stood and held out a hand for me, helping to pull me to my feet again. He was a few inches taller than me, too, even with the heels on my boots.

"Huh… I don't think I've ever heard of you before. Where are you from?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Nowhere, really. I'm a nomad," I told him. Reighn crossed his arms and leaned against the railing.

"Is that so? Where were you born, then? Or have you been a nomad since birth?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice at the end. I giggled.

"Hod. Mother and I escaped when I was a couple years old. She died about five years later. And then I was adopted," I said, turning to face the sea, only to stumble.

Reighn was behind me, a hand on my back to hold me steady, in barely a moment. "Whoa… Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. I nodded.

"I'm fine. I just pushed myself a little too hard," I told him, pulling an Orange Gel out of my bag and popping it into my mouth. It wouldn't undo the strain that my body had been through, but it would lessen it, at least.

Reighn crossed his arms. "You know, most people just stick with the base artes and leave the field of fonons artes to the fields of fonons," he told me. I grinned and turned back to the deck, pulling together fonons again, except this time, they were first and fifth fonons.

"O demonic gate, burn to ashes! Sapphire Riot!" I chanted, unleashing the blue inferno on the empty deck of the ferry and turning to raise an eyebrow at him.

Reighn frowned. "That… looked an awful lot like Crimson Riot. Except, it was blue," he commented. I laughed.

"Yeah, I know. All of my artes end up off-color, so instead of calling it Crimson Riot when it's obviously not red, I started experimenting to see if the fonons would mind me calling it Sapphire Riot. Which they don't, hence…" I trailed off. Reighn nodded.

"Your fonic glyph's green, too. You're just completely off-color where fonons are concerned, aren't you?" he teased. I laughed.

"Yup," I agreed. Then I frowned. "So… Why were you back here, anyway?" I wondered. Reighn shrugged.

"Same reason as you. I wanted to practice with my fonic artes," he replied before holding a hand up. "O brilliance, show your wrath! Photon!" he chanted. I watched in slight awe before frowning playfully and crossing my arms.

"What was that about most people sticking to the base artes?" I joked. He laughed.

"I never said I was among those people. I was just being general," he replied. Then he gestured to me. "Well, I've seen you use Icicle Rain and Sapphire Riot. You got anything else?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Nope. Not yet," I told him. Reighn shrugged.

"Anything in particular you want to learn?" he inquired. I sighed.

"Well, there is one arte… But it's probably… okay, _definitely_ too advanced for me, so I'm holding off on working on it," I replied. Reighn looked interested.

"Which arte would that be?" he wondered.

"Cluster Raid."

Reighn cringed. "Yeah, better wait a bit for that one," he agreed. I laughed.

"I'm not a total idiot," I told him. Then the world started spinning again, and I sighed. "Though, I'd better go get some rest. Have fun, Reighn!" I called over my shoulder as I walked off. He laughed.

"Be careful!" he yelled back. I grinned and headed down below. I was about halfway down the stairs when I spotted Dark.

"Come down on your own, did you?" he teased. I yawned.

"My body's not too happy with me right now," I told him. "I was fighting with uncooperative Energies again." He shrugged.

"We've got food waiting on us in the cabin. Come on," he stated, leading me to the cabin he had claimed as ours. Koran was lying in the corned, not looking all that comfortable, but it probably had something to do with the fact that it wasn't his nest.

I ate as much as I could before I felt my eyelids start to droop, at which point I managed to drop into the 'bed' nearby. Oh well, it caught me. What do I care?

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Reighn! Reighn is another OC, and yes, there are plenty of them running around in this story._

_For whatever odd reason, Reighn is fond of making me wonder if he’s actually some sub-species of werecat. He can’t resist poking his nose into_ everything _._


	10. Chapter 2.4 - The Letter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, Chapter 2 is up. Now to get Chapter 3 up...

_"Nice to know that the memory of me writing about my personal problems has been preserved.” -Dark_

* * *

I yawned and stretched my arms out. It was about dawn, and I was just now waking up. But, that didn't really surprise me, after the Energy exertion from the day before.

"Finally awake, huh?"

I looked over at Dark and scowled. "I'd have been up sooner if I hadn't exhausted myself yesterday," I informed him. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're not usually this snappy," he observed. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I know. Give me a couple of minutes to wake up and I'll be my usual cheery self, though," I replied, standing and stretching out my legs. "So, when are we due to be arriving?"

Dark scribbled something down in what I guessed was his journal before sighing. "We'll be in Daath Bay sometime in the next hour, and it'll take at least another two hours to get to Daath from there," he informed me. I nodded slowly.

"I'm stopping by Aramis Spring. I've got an odd feeling…" I told him. He frowned.

"Feeling?" he echoed.

I shrugged. "It's probably nothing, but I just feel like I need to set something up. Just in case, I suppose. And if nothing else, it'll be worth the practice to draw," I told him. At the mention of drawing something, anything, my fingers started itching again, and I pulled out my sketchbook.

Sitting across from Dark and opening the sketchbook, I started drawing. He looked up at me with a mildly surprised look on his face, and I smiled at him before shrugging and returning to what I had been doing.

Lost in the shading I had been doing, I didn't notice when Dark stood. I did, however, hear the sharp inhale next to my left ear. Turning my head in surprise, I realized that Dark had been looking over my shoulder at my drawing.

I bit my lip. "Sorry. You were kinda just sitting there and—" I started. Dark shook his head.

"It's fine, I just… I hadn't expected… Wow… I… I'm not sure what to say…" he stumbled. I giggled and closed the sketchbook.

"I have a tendency to start drawing the first thing I see whenever I pull my sketchbook out," I told him. "It makes me feel like I'm preserving a memory."

Dark smiled, a real, genuine smile for once. "Nice to know that the memory of me writing about my personal problems has been preserved," he joked. I laughed and slipped the sketchbook back into my bag.

"I've got a picture of Nephry in there, too," I told him, pulling my bow and quiver on and following him out of the cabin. Koran followed us as well, and he nudged me slightly as we went along before growling.

"He wants to know if you'd take him with you to Aramis Spring," Dark translated. "I can't exactly bring him with me to Daath, which means he'll be stuck outside the city until I'm done."

I smiled and looked over at Koran. "I don't see why not," I agreed. Dark smiled again.

"Thanks, Kairi," he said quietly. I looked over at him and smiled back.

The three of us stepped off of the ferry together, and Dark headed straight out of town, Koran on his heels to avoid lingering in the small port town. Yes, there was Daath, and there was the port, but of course there was a small town around the port, as well as Daath itself.

So, after wandering around a bit, I left the port. Koran growled from the side of the road, and I grinned. "So, ready to head for Aramis Spring?" I asked him. He nodded and looked off to our left, in the general direction of the spring.

We had just barely set off when the first group of monsters attacked us. Letting Koran worry about keeping them away, I pulled my bow from my back, unleashing a small volley of arrows before I gave in, nodded to myself, and slipped into what I was starting to think of as my casting stance.

"O demonic gate, burn to ashes! Sapphire Riot!" I chanted, the arte landing on top of two bees that had been heckling Koran. He growled over his shoulder thankfully before jumping and landing on a wolf, killing it. A final arrow from my bow killed the last monster, and I smirked. "Piece of cake."

Koran nodded, and we headed off again, reaching the entrance to the caverns around the spring without finding any more monsters. I looked around curiously. "So, this is Aramis Spring, huh?"

Koran growled curiously, and I shrugged. "What? I've never actually been on this continent before. I know a little… okay, a lot about it… but I've never been here myself," I told him. Then I started forward again, heading for the caverns that would lead us to the spring.

Koran trailed behind me, his head swinging back and forth as he watched for monsters, and I kept an eye out myself. I didn't want to be caught off guard. Although, the monsters here were weaker than those around Keterburg, and I'd gotten used to those.

A warning growl caught my attention, and I drew a set of arrows, holding two and pulling the third back as a duo of gray crab-like monsters landed in front of me. Iron Crabs, I think they're called.

I released the arrow I was holding jumping back twice as Koran moved in to attack. "Careful, Koran! These things can petrify you," I warned the liger as he unleashed a lightning-based attack on one of them. He growled and nodded, I suppose as a gesture to assure me that he had heard, before continuing to attack the crabs.

I stepped back and started gathering up fonons again. "O frigid blades, pour forth! Icicle Rain!" I chanted. Once I had gotten the ratio right, it was no problem to actually use the arte.

Then one of the crabs got around Koran and charged right at me. Tossing my bow from my left hand to my right, I drew my sword and slashed at the monster twice, killing the already weak crab. Koran quickly dispatched the other, and I grinned.

"Next?" I joked. The liger barked out a laugh as I sheathed my sword and shifted my bow back to my left hand. Yes, I could shoot left-handed, but I was much more accurate right-handed, so it made no sense not to shoot right-handed.

We headed further into the caverns, having to backtrack more than once after having gotten lost, and finally, after a number of battles with monsters that I felt were weak, we reached the ledge above the spring. I grinned and looked down at it, then frowned and looked around.

If I was going to draw an Energy circle, I'd need a flat surface that could hold the chalk, and grass wasn't going to cut it.

Of course, I could always use the stone just inside the caverns. It was nice and dry, and it wouldn’t be worn or washed away too easily, or too quickly, at least. I nodded to myself and started digging in my bag for the colored chalks we had bought, pulling out one of the white ones.

Koran growled questioningly as I bent over, sitting on my knees to start drawing. I smiled. "This is what I wanted to set up, just in case. I don't know why I think I'll need it, but oh well. Better safe than sorry," I told him. He growled an nudged me, then nodded toward the large, empty circle that was currently on the ground in front of me.

I frowned. "What's it for?" I guessed. Koran nodded. "It's a teleportation circle, or at least, it will be once I'm finished. Useful for cases where you have time, but you really do need to get out of a bind."

He sat quietly and watched as I drew every detail of the painstakingly complex circle out. I didn't like Energy circles, for this exact reason, but it was the only way to do really complicated magic without killing myself. And this was definitely complicated magic.

Once I was done, I took a deep breath and sighed before carefully standing and slipping the chalk back into its box. Then, looking over my work, I smiled. "Well then, time to leave… again," I muttered. Then I looked over at Koran and frowned. "Do try not to walk through it? My legs hurt from kneeling for so long," I told him. He nodded and stood, taking a couple steps back before jumping right over the circle. I smiled gratefully and slipped around the outside edge.

We wandered back through the caverns, taking our time and killing any monsters that came anywhere close. I made sure to pick up the Gald and items they dropped, knowing well that I'd need it all. Koran did a good job of warning me when the Iron Crabs were about to drop from the ceiling, and we both managed to avoid being petrified by the damn things…

Although, I've got to admit. Some monsters just aren't all that intelligent. A couple of the Iron Crabs attacked us, and ended up on either side of my liger companion. They started to charge, and Koran got out of the way, resulting in them running into and petrifying each other…

Koran and I stopped and exchanged looks before glancing back at the crabs. Yup, definitely not going anywhere any time soon…

I bent over and started laughing, and Koran's barking laugh joined mine as we started back along the path, heading for the light of the outside world.

"Wow… I didn't think that was even possible," I commented incredulously. Koran nodded, his eyes still rather wide, and I sighed and looked around. "Well… I guess I'm off to Daath now. How much longer to you think Dark will be? We were in there for a few hours, and he said it took a couple of hours from Daath Bay to Daath."

Koran's shoulders shifted, the closest equivalent he could get to a shrug, and I echoed the movement. "Might as well be going," I prompted. He nodded and we headed out of there, back toward the road.

The road had just come into sight when Koran's warning growl rang out. Nocking an arrow—an instinct to defend myself that was only becoming more honed over time—I spun around, bow in half-draw when I recognized the man that was approaching us. I frowned. The road was off to my left… what was he doing off to the right?

Koran growled at him, and that's when I realized that the man was in a defensive position, scythe shaft angled across his body.

"Koran, enough. Reighn, put that away or at least turn it away from him," I ordered, relaxing my arm. The blue-haired man did as I said slowly, his gaze never straying from the liger at my side.

"Friend of yours?" he asked cautiously. I smiled and nodded.

"Yup," I replied cheerfully. Then I frowned and crossed my arms. "What are you doing over here, out of curiosity?"

Reighn shrugged, slipping his scythe onto his back as the blue blade mysteriously disappeared. "I was bored and felt like killing a few monsters. What about you? The road to Daath is over there, and I'm pretty sure I saw you coming from that direction," he stated, pointing back toward Aramis Spring.

"Well, that makes two… Eh, technically three of us. But, I did promise someone that I'd meet them in Daath, so… Now I'm heading that way," I told him, pointing in the direction of the distant but visible cathedral spire. Reighn nodded.

"Yeah, I've got to head home myself. And home is over the river, so… Looks like I'll be joining you for a bit, unless your liger friend minds," he said, looking cautiously at Koran. The liger gave me a look that said 'if we must' before heading toward the road.

"Welcome to the party, then," I said off-handedly before following Koran. Reighn wasn't far behind me, and soon the three of us were on our way toward Daath.

We were about forty minutes into our journey when we crossed the bridge. Reighn stopped and shouldered the scythe he had out from our most recent battle.

"I'd love to continue with you two, but my little sister is waiting on me, and if I went all the way to Daath, I'd just have to backtrack again later," he explained. "See you around, Kairi," he added before wandering off, heading north along the river. I crossed my arms and looked over at Koran.

"I get the feeling I'll be seeing him again," I commented. The liger nodded, and then I huffed and wandered over to a tree, sitting and leaning against it. "Come on, let's take a break."

Koran sprawled out in the shade next to me, and after a few moments, I moved so that I was leaning against him instead of the tree. Of course, I was running my fingers through his mane at the same time, so I really don't think he minded.

We had only been sitting there for a while when a familiar voice rang out. "Oh, hey there!"

Koran and I both looked up, and I smiled when I saw Cantabile walking—correction, _limping_ —toward us. My smile faded. "You okay?" I asked. The God-General looked at me in confusion, then smiled.

"Just a wound from a long time ago. It kept me pretty much bound to my desk for a couple of years, though. Nice to be out and about again," she told me, sitting down against the tree in the spot I had vacated in favor of sitting against Koran. "I take it Sync actually _did_ send that letter, then?"

I bit my lip, then gave in and laughed. "I have to ask… Did you ever read it?" She shook her head, and I started digging through my bag. Once I'd found it, I handed it over, and Cantabile cautiously took the paper, as if afraid of the words written upon it.

I watched her expression go from confused to something that translated as WTF?! Which then turned into exasperation.

"I ought to make that boy start writing me letters whenever one of us is not in Daath. Maybe he'll figure out how to… you know… actually write a letter…" she muttered.

I doubled over laughing. "Nephry and I kept joking that you forced him to do it, and that he'd never written a letter before," I managed through the laughter until I was on the verge of hyperventilating from lack of oxygen.

Cantabile looked like she only managed to avoid laughing by worrying over me, gasping for breath against Koran's shoulder. A low rumble let me know that the liger was concerned too.

"I'm fine… I'm alive… I can breath…" I whispered. Cantabile smiled.

"Well, as amusing at this was… I do have to be at the port rather shortly," she stated. I frowned and looked up at Koran. Somehow, during my laughing fit, I had ended up on the ground.

"If I ask nicely, will you carry her to the port?" I asked him. Cantabile blinked in shock.

"You don't need to—"

"You were limping pretty badly, Cantabile. Besides, it's not like I can take Koran into Daath with me," I interrupted her as I pushed myself into a sitting position. "At least if Koran takes you, you won't have to worry about monsters, and he'll have something to do, other than sitting around waiting on me or his friend."

Cantabile smiled sadly. "Yes, I suppose that's true," she agreed. Then she turned to look at Koran. "But, only if you're willing."

Koran stood and growled softly, then nudged her gently. I giggled. "I'd take that as a 'yes'." Cantabile laughed lightly.

"Well then, thank you… Koran," she said. The liger growled softly, and once Cantabile had climbed on, he looked over his shoulder at me, a questioning look in his eye.

"I'll be fine. I've gotten used to the monsters around Keterburg, remember? Fighting on my own again will be a welcome challenge," I said with a confident grin. Koran let out a barking laugh before taking off.

"Take care!" Cantabile called over her shoulder. I grinned and called back.

"Why wouldn't I?"

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Koran is an overgrown housecat. It’s more difficult to see it in these earlier chapters, but he really is just an overgrown, protective housecat._

_Emphasis on the ‘protective’._

_Which is a large part of why he’s agreed to carry Cantabile to the port here. He saw her limping and knows all too well what a limp means to most monsters. Also, Kairi asked nicely._


	11. Chapter 3.1 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I'm apparently bad at this updating-on-a-schedule thing...
> 
> Oh well. Rest assured, it's all been written already.
> 
> Oh, and I don't own the song mentioned in this chapter.

_Eh, whoops… Made him mad. –Kairi_

_"I'm not even going to ask how you got yourself into this situation." –Sync_

* * *

I'll admit it. I must have spent at least half an hour just standing on Fourth Monument Hill, gaping at the sight in front of me.

So far, the game had been pretty accurate. Okay, so it had been much easier to get lost in Aramis Spring, and the path had seemed to be much longer than I remembered it from the game… Okay, and there was a lot more to Keterburg…

Well, maybe the game wasn't quite _that_ accurate… but it had done a pretty good job! But this…!

I took a deep breath and slowly meandered down toward the city below, trying not to get caught up in how… well… amazing Daath looked. It reminded me of a Shakespearean era city, with the simple buildings of the city itself and then the massive—and I do mean _massive_ —cathedral in the center. And, of course, being a lover of such things, Daath was very much appealing to my eye.

Stepping into the city, I couldn't help but pause again. People bustled through the streets, going this way and that way, all the while ignoring anyone who wasn't either in their path or talking to them. I smiled slightly and started walking, meandering around as I slowly made my way in the direction of the cathedral. I wasn't planning on heading straight in, because where would the fun in that be? No, I wanted to look around for a bit.

"Hello there, miss. I don't believe I've ever seen you before," a man commented, an odd look in his eye. I shrugged.

"Just visiting a friend," I excused myself, not really wanting to talk to the suspicious man. He left me alone, thankfully, and I wandered around for a few more minutes before heading up toward the cathedral.

I have to admit, it was absolutely HUGE. The game really didn't do it justice.

Then I cringed. If I could get lost in here in the game, then I was definitely doomed now. I frowned and wandered around outside, not especially up to going in and asking someone for directions.

I paused when I reached a small courtyard, hidden away from public eyes behind the cathedral. It wasn't the peacefulness that made me pause though. It was the redhead that was sitting up against a tree, looking for all the world like someone had just drowned his goldfish.

I couldn't help but stop and stare, before an itch in my fingers caught my attention and resulted in me sitting down there and then to pull out my sketchbook. I drew out a rough outline quickly, then started in on this detail and that until I was pleased with the result.

Then I started shading it in.

I was completely lost in my artwork, singing softly to myself, when his voice rang out across the courtyard.

"I wasn't aware that they had opened this area to the public."

I looked up at him in shock, firstly because he had spoken to me, and secondly because I had expected him to be glaring at me for sitting there drawing him.

It surprised me to find that glaring seemed to be the last thing on the mind of the God-General in front of me. Well, over by the tree. He hadn't moved, and I was still sitting a off to the side.

"Ah… I can leave if you'd like," I told him. He looked away from me, his gaze clouding over as if he were miles away.

"What were you singing?" he asked. I blinked a couple of times in shock. Well, that was certainly the last thing I had ever expected Asch the Bloody to ask me.

"'Constant as the Stars Above'," I answered after a moment. He raised his emerald gaze to the sky, and I couldn't help but mimic the movement.

"It was nice," he said quietly. I smiled slightly to myself and went back to shading my drawing of him.

"I can sing it again," I told him. A soft, barely-there smile appeared on his expression.

"Will you?" he asked, as if reluctant. I took a deep breath and started singing again, a little louder than before so that he could hear it, but still softly. It was a lullaby, after all.

Asch's eyes slipped closed sometime during the song, and I had to wonder if he had fallen asleep.

I was almost finished with my drawing when he spoke again. "So, why were you here, anyway?" he wondered. I shrugged.

"Sync asked me to come. That, and I didn't feel like getting lost inside the cathedral and I'm bad at asking for directions," I replied. A quiet chuckle was Asch's response to that. "What about you? You looked upset when I came out here," I asked.

Asch frowned. "It's nothing. Well, nothing important at least," he dismissed. I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and turned to put the finishing details on my drawing. "Why would Sync ask you to come to Daath?" he asked as I started putting my sketchbook away. I sighed.

"He might have gotten caught up in a small avalanche, and a friend and I might have dug him out," I replied. Asch looked over at me.

"Ah… So _you're_ Kairi."

I rolled my eyes. "Did Sync tell you or did Cantabile? Because I'm sensing a _lot_ of background manipulation from her," I wondered. Asch smirked.

"Start guessing, you'll probably get it right on the first try," he said. I shrugged and stood, stretching my limbs from having been in one position for so long. "You heading in to see him now?"

I crossed my arms. "Eh… Considering it, but leaning on the side of 'no'," I told him. His eyes found their way back to the sky, while I took a moment to think. Asch really had looked upset earlier, and now he seemed to be brooding. What would have him in such a negative mood?

Wait a second… "About what had you upset earlier…" I started.

Asch shot a glare my direction. "I told you it's not important!" he hissed.

I sighed. "If it weren't important, you wouldn't still be so worked up over it," I told him. "So…"

He growled and stood, a hand resting on his sword.

"I think you should leave now," he stated. I frowned.

"Did it have something to do with Luke?" I wondered out loud. Then my mind started reeling. Shit, I'm not supposed to know about Luke!

Asch's eyes hardened. "What do you know about that dreck?" he asked. I bit my lip.

“Shit… Shouldn't have said that…" I muttered. Asch stomped over to me and grabbed my arm.

"What do you know?" he yelled. I took a deep breath and assumed what I hoped looked like an innocent expression.

"Just what I've seen," I answered honestly. Asch growled and started dragging me along toward the cathedral. Eh, whoops… Made him mad.

"You know more than you're letting on, I can tell," he grumbled, walking past an Oracle Knight that I'm sure must have been startled by the angry redhead that was quickly and roughly dragging me along.

"I know what I've seen," I repeated. Asch glared at me, and I rolled my eyes. Okay, this wasn't going to end well. Especially not with what I was about to do. "But, judging from the way you went off at me, I'd assume that it _does_ have something to do with Luke."

Way to dig yourself a grave, Kairi. Asch's glare only intensified, and the next thing I consciously registered was being thrown into a prison cell.

"You're going to tell me everything you know, and then I'll consider whether to let you live or not," Asch told me. I looked around the cell and, with my back still turned to him, smirked. Wow… talk about an idiot. He hadn't even bothered to relieve me of my weapons.

"We'll see," I replied. Asch growled, but the sound of a closing door caught our attention.

"Asch! Legretta wants to speak with you!" Arietta's voice called out. Asch groaned.

"Figures… her timing is always horrible," he grumbled. Then he looked back at me where I was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking up at him as innocently as I could.

"You're not going anywhere any time soon, so you'd best get comfortable!" he shouted before storming off, back up the stairs. I smirked.

My chalks, my weapons… really, everything was right here, so…

I pulled the box of chalks out and started in on the Energy circle I needed with a blue one. I had done this before to transport a few items, but teleporting myself? That was going to be tricky.

But, the hyperresonance in the beginning of the game teleports Tear and Luke to Tataroo Valley, doesn't it? So maybe if I can bring Seventh Fonons into the mix and cause a small hyperresonance, I can direct it using my Energy circles and land safely in Aramis Spring!

Well, that's my theory anyway. But, first things first.

I huffed in frustration and went back to fighting with the chalk. The floor was nice and smooth, unlike the rock at Aramis Spring had been, but whether or not I'd be able to get the circle right was another story altogether.

Finally, after finishing the thing, I sat down in the center and took a deep breath. This next part would be fun. This was a prison, so I had no doubt that the deaths and negative feelings had resulted in the Energies in the area becoming negative as well. And, as this was going to take a large number of Energies… Well, Asch had been right about one thing, at least.

I was going to be here for a while.

"I'm not even going to ask how you got yourself into this situation."

I slipped back into my body, carefully holding all of the Energies I had cleansed, so that I could looked up at Sync.

"I opened my mouth a bit too long," I answered bluntly. "By the way… If this puts a negative mark in your file, I apologize." Then I closed my eyes and wandered back onto the second plane.

Sync frowned. "I'm not going to ask what you're doing, either," he decided. Then he looked away. "I'll go talk to Asch, see if I can get him to calm down from whatever it was you said," he told me before walking off. I just rolled my eyes and pulled another group of Energies over to me, placing my hands into their midst and willing the negativity away.

Then I frowned and pulled all of the cleansed Energies closer to me from where they had been attempting to make a run for it. I started in on the next group, cautiously keeping an eye on the Energies that I had already cleansed. I didn't want to have to keep stopping just to pull them all together.

An idea formed then, and I smiled, keeping the Energies close as I pulled back into my body and pulled out the pink chalk. Doodling over my blue circle as if it wasn't even there took me very little time, as this was one of the more familiar circles, even though it was just as complicated as the blue and white ones I had already drawn today.

Once the pink circle was drawn, I fell back onto the second plane and activated the glyph. Any cleansed Energies were placed within the column of space above it, and I grinned. Now I could focus on cleansing them and not have to worry about holding the Energies in place.

I was just finishing with the next-to-last group of them when the sound of a slamming door caught my attention. I frowned. That was probably Asch. If I wanted to finish this before he got down here, then I had better finish quickly.

But of course the last group was mostly wind Energies. And wind Energies don't like me, at all, which meant that cleansing them took much longer than it should have. Finally, I managed to finish up with them, and I started using the sun Energies in the area to corral a few seventh fonons toward my circle.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The sound of Asch's voice nearly startled me into losing control of the sun Energies, and the seventh fonons with them. Lucky him, I didn't, but only barely.

Shit, he was opening the door! Hurry, hurry, no, don't let the seventh fonons slip!

Yes!

I jumped back into my body grinning. Asch had just gotten the cell unlocked as I clapped my hands. With this many Energies, I needed physical action to control them.

The clap brought my two small groups of seventh fonons together, causing them to react. Slamming both hands down on the blue chalk circle activated the glyph, sending the rest of the Energies into a whirl.

Oh shit!

"Don't!" I screamed as Asch lurched forward, obviously intending to grab me.

"Asch? Kairi!?"

Oh yes, let's just add Sync to this mess…

And then Asch screamed, and I reached out for him with my soul. I was taking a risk doing this, but I had the feeling that if I didn't, I'd regret it.

As the cell disappeared in a blinding light, I felt something… no some _one_ else slip into my body with me.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So... About the Energy Circles._

_Originally, I had done my best to hold off on revealing Kairi’s ability with them. That got nixed rather quickly when I realized I needed a way to isolate Asch with Kairi for a good period of time._

_That said... Having had a few years to develop the plot device called ‘Energies’, some of this makes me sit here and scratch my head, because I’m not completely certain it should all work properly. However, as I’ve also managed to misplace the notes I’ve made on Energies, Energy Circles, and Energy-based Magick... I’m not meddling with it. I could very well make it_ worse _._


	12. Chapter 3.2 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here we go...
> 
> Just as a funny-ish note, I'm posting these as a part of a challenge. A friend and I are 'racing' to see who can finish editing/posting faster. Since I tend to work faster, I have to get more chapters posted than she does, but it's still fun.

_"I was bored and I saw you practically running into headquarters dragging along the woman I invited to Daath, so I decided to investigate. Most interesting thing that's happened in the last week." –Sync_

_"It's been a long day… I'm not even going to ask.” –Random Oracle Knight_

* * *

I sighed and crossed my arms, leaning against the cathedral wall. Talk about bored out of my mind.

Cantabile just couldn't keep her mouth shut, could she? No, she had to go a blab to practically _everyone_ that I had gotten caught up in an avalanche and… and…

_I had been on a path, hadn't I? And now it was dark—_

_No! No, no, no!_

_I realized I couldn't breath, I couldn't—_

_Breath, just breath, just…_

_The snow shifted._

I clenched my teeth and pulled myself out of the memory. "It's over and it's not happening again," I told myself angrily.

And of course, having been told by Cantabile, Van had taken me off-duty for two weeks so that I could recover. Two weeks! I'd gotten over the fever the day after we got back to Daath, and that had been five days ago. It had been more than a full week since the avalanche.

As soon as Van got back to Daath, I was going to his office and complaining.

"You know more than you're letting on, I can tell."

I raised an eyebrow—not that anyone could see, what with the mask in the way—and looked off to my left, the direction Asch's voice had come from. He was storming past the soldier on guard duty in front of the entrance to Oracle Knight Headquarters with a blonde woman in tow, obviously not pleased. Well, that didn't surprise me. Asch _was_ rather easy to piss off, and—

I froze.

Wait, hadn't that been…?

I looked back over to the now-closed door that led to headquarters and frowned. Why had Asch been dragging Kairi off into headquarters? If he had been bringing her to me, he would have headed up to our rooms in the cathedral, not below. Then what he had said made me even more curious.

What had she said to piss him off…?

I sighed and pushed off of the wall. Well, at least investigating after Asch would give me something to do. But as we wandered further down into headquarters, I was starting to wonder just where Asch was dragging Kairi off to. When he stopped, unlocked one of the cells along the hallway, and threw Kairi in, I shook my head in exasperation.

Way to not even disarm her, Asch. You are just begging for her to try to escape, aren't you?

"You're going to tell me everything you know, and then I'll consider whether to let you live or not," Asch told her. I put a hand against my mask, where my forehead was. I was just going to retreat into this little alcove and wonder over the redhead's stupidity.

"We'll see," I heard Kairi reply. I was half-tempted to groan, but decided that I didn't want Asch pissed at me too. I did have to wonder if she really enjoyed digging her own grave, though…

Asch growled, but another voice called out before he could say anything else. "Asch! Legretta wants to speak with you!"

I smirked at Asch's groan. "Figures… her timing is always horrible," I barely heard him grumble. I wasn't sure if he was referring to Arietta, who had delivered the message, or Legretta, who had sent it, but I didn't especially care.

"You're not going anywhere any time soon, so you'd best get comfortable!" Asch shouted as he stormed back past me and up the stairs toward the door where Arietta was probably still standing.

I waited a few moments before I stepped back out of the alcove. Now then… should I follow Asch, or should I confront Kairi?

I decided that the latter would be a good idea, as this would likely be my only chance before Asch got back.

I'm not sure what I was expecting to see when I stopped in front of the cell Asch had thrown Kairi in, but… suffice to say that I certainly hadn't expected her to be on her hands and knees drawing… well, it looked kinda like a fonic glyph. And yet, it didn't…

And then she nodded to herself and sat cross-legged in the middle of the chalk circle. She had closed her eyes almost before sitting, which meant that she still probably hadn't seen me. Though, as dark as it was, that didn't surprise me in the least.

I stood there for a few minutes, and she didn't move. I frowned. Had she fallen asleep? Sitting like that? The dedicated way she had drawn the circle made me think that she planned to use it for something, but what? And why did she seem to be sleeping, or at least not doing anything?

"I'm not even going to ask how you got yourself into this situation," I said, hoping to catch her attention and wondering if she would even react.

A moment passed before her eyes opened, a shade of emerald lighter than Asch's, and with hints of gold in them. An interesting eye color, at least.

"I opened my mouth a bit too long," she answered rather bluntly. Somehow, that didn't surprise me. "By the way… If this puts a negative mark in your file, I apologize." Then she closed her eyes and went back to being unresponsive.

I frowned. Why would this, as she said, 'put a negative mark in my file'? Once I talked this through with Asch and got the mess cleared up, she'd be free to go and no one would be any the wiser… Unless… What was that circle supposed to be for? Was she going to try to break out?

I rolled my eyes under the mask. "I'm not going to ask what you're doing, either," I decided. Then I looked off toward the stairs Asch had stormed up. "I'll go talk to Asch, see if I can get him to calm down from whatever it was you said," I told her before I walked away, hoping it would keep her from causing any trouble while I was gone.

I had half expected her to reply, but wasn't all that surprised when she didn't.

Arietta had said that Legretta wanted to speak to Asch, right? That meant they were probably in the room Van designated to be used for briefings and whatnot. That was up in the cathedral, which meant a fairly long walk. I sighed and took off at a run. I wanted to get this over with, not delay it for however long Asch tried to drag it out.

I opened the door that led into the hallway to the briefing room and nearly slammed into Asch. Was he already done talking to Legretta? Well, I had stood around watching Kairi do nothing for a while.

"Sync? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be resting?" Asch asked suspiciously. I rolled my eyes, then crossed my arms to get the point across, since he couldn't see my eyes.

"I invited Kairi to Daath, and you've got her locked up in a cell in the dungeons. I'd like to know why," I stated, hoping I sounded somewhat indignant. Probably not, but it's not like I cared enough for it to matter to me.

Asch's glare had me slightly confused. "How much do you know about her?" he asked. I frowned. Okay, that certainly wasn't the reply I had been expecting.

"She dug me out from under five feet of snow with the help of a liger and her own bare hands, she's best friends with the governor of Keterburg, and she didn't ask for anything more than a 'thank you' for unburying me," I told him bluntly. Asch's glare didn't waver in the least.

"She never said anything about something she shouldn't have been able to know?" he pushed. I let my arms fall to my sides.

"I barely even spoke to her. Really, the only things she said were 'you're welcome' and 'you remind me of a friend'," I said. Asch frowned and looked down at the ground, and my curiosity spiked. "Why? What did she say?"

"'Did it have something to do with Luke?'" he whispered. I frowned as Asch looked up. "How could she have known about Luke? I kept asking her, and her response was just that she knew what she had seen."

I sighed. "That idiot's been locked in the manor since he was created. Unless she somehow got in there, I doubt that she's seen him… Which implies that we're missing something here," I mused out loud. Asch crossed his arms.

"She knows a lot more than she's letting on, maybe too much," he said. "I have to know what else she's hiding. So… Are you going to help me, or hinder me?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my wild hair before stepping out of the way so Asch could leave the hallway. "Come on. She was up to something when I left, though I have no idea what. Might as well go see what we can figure out," I told him. Asch groaned.

"You followed me down there?"

I shrugged. "I was bored and I saw you practically running into headquarters dragging along the woman I invited to Daath, so I decided to investigate. Most interesting thing that's happened in the last week," I commented off-handedly.

Asch was silent as we made the long trek back down to the dungeons. He was probably thinking as hard as I was.

How did Kairi know about Luke? And the way he had said it… It was as if he knew that Kairi was also aware of the fact that Luke was a replica. Seeing them both wouldn't bring someone to the automatic conclusion that one was a replica, would it? You would think that someone would assume identical twins first.

We reached the dungeons faster than my questioning brain liked. Well, I should say 'Asch reach the dungeons', seeing as how I was a flight of stairs behind him. I sighed.

"Impatient, aren't we?" I muttered, jumping the last few steps and opening the door to follow Asch.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I heard Asch ask angrily. I frowned and took off at a run down the steps. Asch had the key to the cell out and was slipping it into the door when I heard what sounded like a single, ringing clap.

Asch yanked the cell door open and ran in as a glow appeared.

"Don't!" I heard Kairi scream as I neared.

"Asch? Kairi!?" I cried as Asch screamed. The light became brighter, and once I was able to open my eyes again, I blinked.

Where Asch and Kairi had been, there lay only Asch, silent and unmoving.

I blinked twice before the adrenaline hit me and I was in the cell kneeling next to Asch's body.

I pressed two fingers to his neck, hoping, _praying_ that he wasn't dead. Van would not be at _all_ pleased if Asch was dead.

A pulse, steady and strong, met my fingertips, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Asch would live. Kairi was gone, and whatever knowledge she shouldn't have had was gone with her, but Asch would live. We simply wouldn't tell Van what had happened. What Van didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

I took another deep breath and scowled. I couldn't leave Asch down here, and if I asked a soldier to move him from this cell, they'd start asking questions. That wouldn't be very productive to keeping Van in the dark regarding Kairi and her method of escape.

I rolled my eyes and hefted Asch onto my back. No, I wouldn't be able to carry him far, but if I could get him somewhere else and then have a soldier take him the rest of the way to his room, I could write it off as having found him like this while wandering around attempting to entertain myself.

Yeah, that story would just have to do for now.

Of course, I was seriously contemplating saying to hell with it all and going to find a soldier before I was even halfway to the stairs. Oh shit… I could barely handle Asch's weight as it was, how was I supposed to get him up the stairs?

I sighed and left Asch at the bottom of the steps before running up them. Maybe the first soldier I find won't be too nosy?

Oh, who am I kidding? This is Daath, gossip central of Auldrant. With how quickly word had gotten around about the avalanche incident, I doubted that word of Kairi's escape from the dungeon would stay a secret for long.

I had to stop and stare for a moment when I got back to the main hall of headquarters though.

"Get him!"

"Don't let the assassin escape!"

What the hell?!

I ran out into the center of the open space and looked up. Sure enough, a black-haired teen who couldn't have been much older than me was in the process of jumping down the terraced levels of the main hall, heading for the exit. I settled into a defensive position as gunshots rang out.

I frowned. What was Legretta doing down here?

Then I spotted the flash of silver as the boy aimed behind him, and I realized that the gunshots were coming from him. I also registered the fact that he was only using one of the two guns he had on his person. The other likely was loaded with ammunition he didn't want to waste.

"I hope you're not planning on getting in my way," the boy said as he landed on the ground in front of me. I scowled and ran at him, dodging two shots before a third hit my left forearm.

"I'm already having a bad day, thanks," I grumbled, aiming my punches carefully but only landing one of the four that I threw. The boy sighed.

"And here I was hoping that I wouldn't have to hurt you. Kairi probably wouldn't be too happy with me about that," he muttered. I stumbled. This guy knew Kairi?

The boy smirked and slipped around me. "Later, Sync. And tell her I said 'hi', would ya?" he taunted as he ran out of headquarters. I blinked twice in shock before growling and running after him. Damn him for making me drop my guard like that!

"Locrian Colonel Sync! Are you alright?"

I growled in frustration. That assassin had gotten away!

Then I crossed my arms and started reeling in my annoyance. There was still a certain unconscious redhead that needed to be taken back to his room. "I'm fine. He was too pre-occupied with escaping to actually kill me once he'd gotten past me," I told the soldier. "Sergeant, I need your assistance. Locrian Colonel Asch is unconscious in the hallway to the dungeons, and I can't carry him to his room by myself."

The man was quiet for a while. "It's been a long day… I'm not even going to ask," he stated. I sighed.

"I wouldn't have answered, anyway, because you're right about one thing at least," I said. "It has been a _very_ long day."

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So... Sync is bored out of his mind, and that particular Oracle Knight apparently has the sense to know that Sync is just tired enough to not care about how casually his subordinate is addressing him._

_(Also, and don’t hold me to this, but I think that might be Hue, who shows up late in Re:AST...)_

 


	13. Chapter 3.3 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next...
> 
> Also, as I believe this is the first chapter where we see telepathy/speech on the second plane, I'd like to note that I use < > in the original doc and FF.net hates those symbols. (AO3 doesn't, but since I'm cross-posting, I have to format for FF.net, sadly.)
> 
> So they've (mostly) been replaced with asterisks (*). However, I will occasionally forget to replace them, so if there's a chapter somewhere with a sentence that looks like it's supposed to be speech but has no quotation marks or asterisks around it, it was probably supposed to have the asterisks.

_*I was hoping you'd cool off a bit.* -Kairi_

_*Yeah, but I travel alone. What use would I have for a Stone Bottle when no one could give it to me?* -Kairi_

* * *

*You really think that you're the only one who considers this an awkward situation?!* I shouted telepathically to Asch. It was the twenty-ninth, the day after I had arrived in Daath. The day after Asch had arrested me.

The day after I had pulled Asch's spirit into my body with me.

And, of course, we weren't getting along at all.

*Well maybe you shouldn't have set off that hyperresonance!* Asch yelled back. I huffed and sat down in the shade beneath one of the trees. We were still at Aramis Spring, mostly because… well, we had just woken up.

Eh, correction. Asch had just woken up. I'd been awake and meditating.

Now then, where was I? Oh, yeah…

*I didn't feel like sticking around,* I told him. *Now, if you would be so kind as to shut up for a minute.*

*Now what the hell are you doing?* he grumbled. I ignored him and closed my eyes, wrapping my spirit around his and tugging us both out of my body.

His spirit was temporarily latched on to my Energy Core, so I wasn't too concerned about him separating. No, I was more worried about the effect that his missing spirit would have on his own Energy Core.

*Whoa…*

I looked over at Asch and smirked. Oh good, I get a few moments of peace before I have to deal with him. So, making good use of that time…

I turned back to my body and started using the moon Energies floating around to check myself over. I wasn't healing anything, or even really forcing them to move differently, so this counted as a trick. Definitely handy, though.

Then I watched my Energy Core for a while, double- and triple-checking the Energy ratios.

Six sun Energies for each eleven moon Energies, with a total of a little over a hundred sun Energies (by my estimate, at least). Okay, so that hadn't changed, which was good.

One wind Energy to each five fire Energies… Wait a second, five? …No, it was one to six… Huh… okay, increase in fire Energies or decrease in wind Energies… Most likely the latter, all things considered.

And the four to five ratio of earth Energies to water. Well, that was a little off. It was usually three to five, so I was a little high on earth Energies, since I had about half as many water Energies as moon Energies, and that was normal. A few extra earth Energies certainly wouldn't kill me.

*What are you doing?*

I sighed and shot a glare over my shoulder. Asch was really pushing the limits of my patience. *Making sure my body can handle the strain of two souls residing within it. And checking to make sure my Energy Core isn't too destabilized for having us both anchored to it,* I told him honestly. *I've got extra earth Energies and I'm short on wind, but that doesn't surprise me in the least, considering what I did yesterday.*

Asch growled. *When the hell are you going to put me back in my own body?* he asked. I rolled my eyes.

*As soon as I feel comfortable walking back into Daath,* I replied. *Which will be within the next two or three weeks, but not the next two or three days, so get comfortable.*

A metallic _hiss_ caught my attention and I turned before my eyes widened in surprise and I jumped to the side, letting the redhead's blade slice through the air where I had been.

*That's not good enough!* Asch shouted. I groaned.

*Well excuse me for exercising caution,* I countered, drawing my own sword. Weapons wouldn't always materialize on the second plane, but if they were on your body and your spirit needed them, they would be there.

Which was a good thing, I realized as Asch slashed at me again. I managed to knock one attack to the side as I slipped back around him, running off a ways.

*Maybe you shouldn't have opened your mouth in the first place,* Asch stated. I sighed.

*Yes, I know, my mistake for bothering to stop, think, and try to figure out what had you in such a bad mood,* I grumbled. *And to think, I was trying to help you get over it. See what I get for sticking my neck out for people?*

Asch growled and charged at me, and I took a deep breath to calm myself.

He was pissed, and that was all there was to it. Fortunately, and I knew this from experiences with Rabecah, when people get pissed, they get sloppy. And I'd been training in Keterburg.

I raised my sword to block against his first strike and instantly regretted it as the blow sent me stumbling backward. I had severely underestimated the power he could put behind his swings.

Cursing in an uncreative way as I beat a quick retreat, I thought about my options. Well, I didn't really want to have to deal with facing him completely head-on, because that would mean wasting way too much of my strength. 'But, unfortunately,' I thought, taking my sword in both hands and swatting Asch's away before running to the side again. 'I can't keep running like this either.'

*Are you going to stop running off like that, or am I just going to have to chase you around?!* Asch shouted. I sighed.

*I was hoping you'd cool off a bit,* I told him. He growled and ran at me again, except this time, there were fonons clustering around his blade.

*Fang Blade!*

*Son of a—!* I yelped, jumping to the side only for the strike arte to slash through my right thigh. *Oh ho… Now you've done it… Gone and pissed me off…*

I think after spending the last five minutes running away from him, Asch didn't expect me to start slashing at him, meaning he didn't get a chance to raise his sword before I landed my combo. Then I jumped back and ran around to his right, not wanting to give him the chance to retaliate.

Of course, just as him managing to land Fang Blade had pissed me off, my successful combo had angered him even more than he already was.

*Havoc Strike!*

I wasn't appreciating his use of artes either, but at least Havoc Strike was the one I was a little better at avoiding.

And then, after using a Raging Blast to send me sprawling, he stepped back and started gathering fonons. I smirked and gathered up a few sun and earth Energies.

*O frigid blades, pour forth!* Asch chanted. I let the Energies do their thing as he unleashed the arte… *Icicle Rain!* …on himself.

I couldn't help but laugh at the indignant look on his face when the ice spears started raining down on him, rather than me. *Remind me again why I love Energies?* I muttered. Then I started cursing.

While dropping his arte on himself had amused me, it had pissed Asch off beyond belief. Honestly, at this point, the only reason I felt I could pin to why I was still alive was that when Asch was pissed off, his attacks can get sloppy.

Then, realizing that if I didn't do something quick, Asch would be back to full health in no time (seeing as how our spirits just needed to pick up a few extra Energies as we ran through them in order to heal), I stopped and jumped to the side. Asch, not expecting the sudden change in direction, was open for a moment as I unleashed another combo on him before running off.

He ran after me of course, gathering up fonons in his hand. I stopped and watched carefully. Maybe… Oh shit!

*Raging Blast!*

Well, there went trying to get out of the way as I went sprawling again.

This time, rather than bothering to attempt any fonic artes (wise choice, considering what had happened last time), Asch came straight at me.

I frowned and rolled along the ground, out of the way of the Havoc Strike he unleashed a moment later.

*Either you're getting sloppier as we go, or you just really don't fight all that well when you're pissed off,* I commented as I stood. Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten far enough away, and Asch was right next to me already.

*Shut up! Guardian Field!* he yelled back. I had gotten caught up in it, and let me tell you, Guardian Field _hurt_. Oh, and you know how it throws you back once it's done? Yeah… Was not very happy…

*Bring all to ashen ruin!*

Oh, shit! Move, move, move!

*Explosion!*

Well, credit to the girl who must have been in the red on her HP, because I made it to my feet and then to the edge of where Explosion… well, exploded on top of me.

Everything went black as I fell back into my body.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I couldn't have woken more than half an hour later, but I had to sigh when I realized what Asch was doing… Er, failing at doing, at least.

*Try swinging left-handed,* I grumbled from the back of my own mind. *You'll get in twice as many hits and they won't land a third of theirs.*

Asch growled. *I don't need you to tell me how to fight!* he argued. I huffed in frustration and shoved at his consciousness, not strong enough to actually force him out of control, but enough to switch the sword from my right hand to my left and slash at the monster that had been about to strike us.

*And of course you had to get into a fight with a couple of Iron Crabs… I swear to every congregate sentience of fonon, if you get me petrified—!*

*Ever heard of a Stone Bottle?* Asch shot back, taking full control again and moving to switch the sword back to right hand. He hesitated before his empty right fist clenched and he struck out at the crab that was charging at us, breaking its charge and keeping it from petrifying us.

*Yeah, but I travel alone. What use would I have for a Stone Bottle when no one could give it to me?* I replied.

*…Good point…* Asch conceded. I sighed.

*I'm not an idiot. Shit, behind you!*

Asch spun around and raised the sword in both hands to block the Iron Crab, but he swung a little too late.

And as the Iron Crabs ran off, I groaned and pulled both of our spirits out of my body again. *Great, just great,* I groaned. Asch scowled.

*Now what?* he asked, just as annoyed as I was. I frowned and looked back at myself.

*Now I get to…* I started, trailing off as I noticed something pink and my eyes widened. *Ooh! Mine!* I cheered, running after the Spirit Energy without a second thought.

*What the hell are you doing?!* Asch shouted after me as I jumped onto a rock ledge under where the Spirit Energy had gotten stuck between two Energy flows. I grinned as I reached up, my fingertips just barely grazing the pink orb. Really, that was all I actually needed.

Then I let my spirit slip back to my Energy Core before stepping out of my petrified body again. I looked over at Asch and grinned.

*That was a Spirit Energy. If you ever see one, grab it,* I told him, a light chuckle still in my voice. *Now then…*

I frowned and checked my Energy Core again. It was as stable as it had been earlier, though with a few less earth Energies, and I nodded before pulling sun, moon, and water Energies over.

*I repeat: What the hell are you doing?* Asch asked. I sighed.

*Would you shut up for a moment? Oh, and do us both a favor and don't argue when I say we're going back to the spring after this,* I shot over my shoulder. A few of my sun Energies ran off, and I had to gather them up again.

Although at this point, I was just hoping that this would work the same as it did back home.

The moon Energies went first, and then I let the water and sun Energies start flowing into my body, bit by bit.

I frowned. *Asch, get back in there. I don't want to risk impaling myself,* I ordered. Asch looked ready to argue, but a very pointed glare must have gotten my point across, and once he was in my body again, I let the last of the Energies do their thing.

The stone disappeared, and Asch blinked in shock as I slipped back into my body with him. *How…?*

*I'll explain in the morning,* I interrupted, pulling control away from him and sheathing my sword. I wasted no time in running back along the path, headed for the spring. Even now, I could feel the immense drain that de-petrifying myself had caused, and judging from the feelings I was getting off of Asch, he could too.

He was silent as I made it back to the clearing and settled in under a tree. I was out like a light almost as soon as I put my head down.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Ah. Aramis Spring. So many happy (or not so happy, as this chapter shows) memories._

_Thankfully, I think Kairi and I will always remember the iron crab statues and forget Asch’s idiocy getting Kairi’s body petrified._


	14. Chapter 3.4 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another part posted, and we are now halfway through Chapter 3.

_*Have you_ any _sense of focus?* –Asch_

_*Believe what you will of the words that come out of my mouth, or in this case my head, but you'd better believe me when I say I'm bored, I have a bow, and you're just kinda standing there.* –Kairi_

_*So, you're going to sit there with your eyes closed while simultaneously… sitting there with your eyes closed…* –Asch_

* * *

"Ifritday, Gnome-Redecan 30… Day… er…" I muttered quietly to myself the next morning. I didn't want to look in my journal, because I was trying my best to keep Asch from finding out everything.

*Two?* Asch supplied. I laughed.

*No, it's not for how long you and I have been stuck in a body together. It's… how long it's been since I landed in Keterburg,* I told him.

*Don't look at me then,* he stated. I chuckled.

"Let's see… Gnomeday was Day 10, so… Remday, Lunaday… Today would be Day 13… Ooh, my favorite number…" I mumbled.

*Have you _any_ sense of focus?* Asch wondered. I grinned.

"Only when I'm in a bad mood," I replied. Then I sighed and looked around. "So, are you going to try to run off into the caverns today and get us petrified again?" I asked.

I felt a lot of general unease from him after that comment. *I…* he started before sighing. I smiled slightly and sat up straight, cross-legged, before closing my eyes and tugging him out onto the second plane again.

*I might be insufferable, but I'm not an idiot. I know that my body refuses to wield a sword right-handed. Now, you can pull off right-hand leading if you're using both hands, but you can't just use your right hand,* I told him. He crossed his arms.

*Yeah, I figured that out,* he muttered.

I sighed. *Are you still going to argue with me when I say we can't go back right this instant?* I asked, wandering over toward the spring. He frowned.

*Give me one good reason why waiting will do us more good than leaving now,* he insisted.

*I set off a hyperresonance on Remday, about noon. Your body would have collapsed, and I would have been gone without a trace,* I started. *Then, yesterday, when I would have honestly considered going back, you went out and got us petrified. The magic I had to use to fix that cost us a lot more of my body's strength than we could afford to lose, so we had to come back here.*

*So?* Asch grumbled. I sighed.

*It's been more than twenty-four hours now. No one will have been able to get your body to respond, it's gone comatose. Which means that the Order will be looking for a reason why, and Sync will have to tell them what I did, if he didn't the moment I disappeared. By now, they'll have realized that I'm behind the coma your body is in,* I continued. The angry look on Asch's face disappeared.

*They wouldn't let you near me,* he realized. I nodded.

*That's why we now have to give them a little time to cool down,* I added. He turned away from me and sighed.

*Kairi…* he started before sighing. *I'm sorry.*

I blinked and looked away from the water Energies I had been playing with, letting them drop back toward the spring and dance with the fonons coming out of it. *Pardon?* I asked, not sure if I had heard him right.

Asch shot a sour look over his shoulder. *You heard me right the first time,* he told me. I stared at him for a while before a small smile slipped onto my expression.

*In that case, _pardoned_ ,* I replied. Asch scuffed at the dirt beneath his feet, not actually touching it, but letting the small action relaxing him slightly anyway.

*I find that hard to believe,* he told me. I shrugged and willed my bow and quiver to come to my spiritual form.

*Believe what you will of the words that come out of my mouth, or in this case my head, but you'd better believe me when I say I'm bored, I have a bow, and you're just kinda standing there,* I said. Asch turned around in mild alarm, then jumped further out of the way of the arrow I sent whizzing past him.

*What was that for?!* he cried, hand on his sword. I grinned.

*You've got the advantage of strike artes and experience, I've got the advantage of a long-distance weapon. I think that evens things up a bit,* I told him. Asch blinked a couple of times before he rolled his eyes and drew his sword.

*Fine, but I'm not gonna go easy on you,* he replied. I shrugged and drew three arrows, nocking one and holding my bow at the ready.

*Better not, because I'm certainly not holding back,* I told him. That was all the warning I gave him before I raised the bow and shot off a second arrow, nocking the second before Asch had even recovered from the shock of having an arrow flying toward his face.

Painful as that would have felt, it couldn't have killed him anyway, so I didn't hesitate to make what could be kill shots on the physical plane.

Asch definitely wasn't holding back, though. He was fast enough to keep up with me, if not catch up if I got ahead, and he really was much stronger than me.

If I had to estimate levels, I'd say I was about… Twenty-five? And I knew that for Luke, Guardian Field was a level thirty-two arte. So, Asch probably had about ten levels on me.

Of course, I still had the long-range weapon, so even though his attacks were doing three times the damage to me that mine were to him, I was landing twice as many attacks as he was.

I was still losing, though.

Asch held up a hand after a while (it must have been at least an hour) and I happily sat down where I was right then. Well, I say happily…

*I suck…* I moaned.

Asch chuckled. *No, you're just not as experienced as I am, and that wasn't me trying to brag,* he argued. I rolled my eyes and flopped out on my back.

*Asch, do yourself a favor and leave me to wallow in my pessimistic ways,* I grumbled. *I suck, and that's all there is to it.*

Asch sighed, but didn't say anything for a while, leaving me to stop and catch my breath for a while. Then I frowned, sat up, and closed my eyes.

*So, you're going to sit there with your eyes closed while simultaneously… sitting there with your eyes closed…* Asch commented. I opened one eye.

*Shush,* I stated before closing it again, not before catching sight of the bemused expression on Asch's face. Then I started running through my memories of the last… oh wow, only about half an hour. Yikes… Anyway, now that I wasn't in the thick of the battle, I could watch and see what I had done, and what I could have done better.

I frowned and pulled my memories in, opening my eyes as soon as I was sure that the retreating memories wouldn't hurt to have new information added to them.

Asch was standing right in front of me, looking like that little kid that got his hand caught in the cookie jar. And, to be frank, he did have his hand slightly extended like he was going to try to touch something.

I raised an eyebrow and Asch cringed. *I didn't mean to—I mean—I was just wondering what it was…* he said hurriedly. I frowned. What the hell was he talking about…?

*Pardon?* I asked, utterly bewildered. Asch blinked.

*Wait, you mean… You weren't causing that weird… um… Uh, how am I supposed to describe it…?* he muttered. I frowned.

*Energies or fonons?* I asked. He blinked in confusion, and I sighed, gathering up a mass of Energies in my hand. *Energies…?* I asked, releasing them, and then pointing to the glowing orbs that refused to answer to me. *Or fonons?*

*Oh… Energies,* Asch answered. *They were all either silver or green, though I'd have sworn the silvers were reflecting something pink, as if there were some kind of pink glow coming from you, though there wasn't.*

I let my mouth open slightly as understanding dawned across my mind. *Moon and earth Energies, huh? Hmm… Well, that does make sense,* I muttered. It was Asch's turn to be confused again.

*Huh?* he asked bluntly. I giggled.

*I was sifting through my memories. The moon Energies are what allowed me to do that in the first place, while the earth Energies give stability to those memories, allowing me to see them exactly the way I did the first time,* I explained.

Asch tilted his head to the side and sat down in front of me. *Why would you want to look through your memories for so long, though?* he wondered. I smiled.

*I was looking back over our sparring this morning, and the fight yesterday, trying to figure out what I had done well and what could have gone better,* I replied.

Asch blinked. Once, twice… I stopped counting once he hit eight, and he went on for a while after that. *Wow,* he finally stated. I raised an eyebrow.

*What?* I asked cautiously.

*You…* Asch started before he sighed. *You really… Wow… For someone who seems to have something against using fonons, you certainly make good use of every other option at your disposal.*

I sighed. *So… Since I'm now bored again… Um, and this is gonna sound really, _really_ strange, but… uh…* I trailed off. Asch groaned.

*Now what?* he grumbled. I bit my lip.

*Um… HowdoyouuseRagingBlast?* I asked as quickly as I could. Asch frowned and looked at me in confusion.

*You know that requires fonons, right?* he said slowly. I rolled my eyes.

*I didn't ask you to teach me, I… well, no, I guess technically I did…* I said, contradicting myself. *That's not the point!* I added, annoyed. Asch sighed.

*Well, I don't know why it matters, but it's really pretty simple. You just gather up a bunch of fonons and let them out through the fonslots in your fingertips,* he said. I sighed.

*Okay, don't try to tell me it's that easy, because you know what I was told when I was a kid, just learning about fonic artes? 'Just gather and focus the fonons and then chant the fonic verse.' And I know from experience now that it's not that easy,* I told him. He chuckled.

*Well, maybe it is a bit more complicated than that, but… Would you ever really use it?* he asked. I sighed.

*I can't use fonic and strike artes the same way you do, and with you anchored to my Energy Core as well… I don't want to try anything, because I'd be running the risk of losing control, and the last time that happened… Well, I might have set something on fire. And it wasn't a minor fire, either,* I answered. Asch looked thoughtful.

*I'd volunteer to teach you a few strike artes, but you're probably going to want to leave Daath as soon as you can, after this mess is resolved,* he stated. I shuddered.

*Van's going to want to kill me, isn't he?* I asked. It was more a rhetorical question than anything, but Asch grimaced.

*Sync's room is across the hall and one to the right from mine, and there's a nice tall tree outside his window. Take the fonic glyph in the middle of the courtyard, and then the one directly to your left where that one drops you. Then run like hell,* he told me. I laughed.

*Oh, helping me escape now? I seem to recall you wanting to interrogate me, and… oh, what was it you said? _Then_ you'd decide if I could live?* I teased. Asch sighed.

*I'd rather kill you myself, thanks,* he informed me. I just grinned.

*You just don't want to admit that you're not nearly as angry with me now as you were before,* I stated. Asch shot a half-hearted glare at me before looking up at the sky, and I smiled.

The banter was nice… If I didn't think Van would want my head, I'd have asked Asch if I could stay with him in Daath for a while. Between him, Cantabile, and maybe Sync, I doubted that I'd be too bored, unlike in Keterburg, where all I really had to do was train and talk to Nephry or Dark.

That thought brought a frown to my face. Dark… What had happened to him? Had his mission been successful? And who had he been hired to kill?

That could complicate things too, if one of the higher members of the Order of Lorelei had been assassinated. And what if he hadn't succeeded, if he'd gotten caught? I hoped that wasn't the case as my thoughts turned to Koran. The liger would be completely on his own without Dark, and I had no idea where he was, so it wasn't as if I could take him with me now.

*You're thinking pretty hard,* Asch commented. I sighed.

*Just wondering about a couple of friends, and hoping that they got home alright,* I told him. I frowned and thought a while longer. *What were Sync and Cantabile doing in Keterburg a week and a half ago?* I asked, wondering if maybe Asch knew.

The redhead sighed. *Promise me you won't tell anyone? Because this is supposed to be confidential to the Order, although I think it's stupid,* he started. I giggled.

*Well now, let's see if I feel differently, shall we? And besides, who would I tell? I'd probably forget again by the time we got back to Daath. I do tend to be rather forgetful…* I replied. Asch rolled his eyes.

*Anyway… Mohs was getting really paranoid about this assassin. His name's Daemione, although we've got two different first names for the guy. Danté was the first one to crop up, and later Dark. Van figured it was just the same guy trying to put someone off of his tail,* Asch started. I frowned.

*I know Dark. He's… well, an acquaintance. I'm not sure I can call him a friend… although Koran certainly falls into that category…* I muttered. Asch looked over at me in shock before his gaze returned to the sky.

*Anyway, Van's theory was supported by the fact that both 'Danté' and 'Dark' have a liger. Gray fur, brown mane, blue-green ears and tails… the markings are either identical, or it's the same liger,* he continued. I sighed.

*Yeah, that's Koran. So, what's this got to do with Cantabile and Sync being in Keterburg?* I asked. Asch groaned.

*Like I said earlier, Mohs was getting paranoid, so… he decided to set up a trap for him. He sent Cantabile to go 'hire' Daemione to assassinate him, but to keep the other Maestros off of his tail, he sent Sync along with the excuse of checking up on the sephiroth at Mt. Roneal. And then you had to dig him out of the snow,* he finished.

But my mind was reeling. Dark had walked into a trap?!

*If it's any consolation, I highly doubt that an assassin of Daemione's skill would fall for the kind of trap Mohs has planned, or if he does walk into it, he'll probably have no problems escaping,* Asch added. I shot a scowl in his direction.

*He better have gotten away, because if not, I might not be leaving Daath right away,* I growled. Asch blinked.

*I hope you're not planning on trying to kill Mohs yourself,* he said slowly. I shook my head.

*No, he's just going wish that he could go back and time and change his mind by the time I've finished my little rant. And by 'little', I mean long, loud, and thoroughly scathing,* I hissed, not at all in a good mood anymore.

Asch cringed. *Remind me never to get on your bad side…*

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _So... This is the first chapter where we get hints about Dark’s past. We also get to see Kairi making Asch question his sanity. (Which she attempted to turn into a pastime in Re:AST, and which he’s basically managed to become immune to by AEtT.) I love watching the dynamics between those two._


	15. Chapter 6.1 - An Assassin's Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I can count, and yes, I realize that the title says Chapter 6. That's because, chronologically, this Part belongs right where it is, but as far as content is concerned, it's a major part of Chapter 6. So it's labeled as Chapter 6.

_"Yeah… And alive… and comfortable. The latter of which being very much new, and therefore rather_ uncomfortable _.” –Dark_

_"Speaking of lies… Next time you set a trap, don't set it off before your intended prey actually walks into it." –Dark_

* * *

**Dark's POV**

I glanced over my shoulder again. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but could you blame me after the stunt Mohs tried to pull? That had been Remday, and I had been lucky to meet Koran halfway to the port. He'd gotten me there twice as fast as I could have run, and we had just barely made it onto the first ferry out of there.

I had been extremely grateful that it had been bound for Baticul.

Koran was waiting for me in the woods between the city and the desert, and now that I was fairly certain I had lost any pursuers, I was heading through the streets of the Kimlascan capital.

I moved easily in the early morning half-light, glancing over my shoulder one last time before slipping onto the aircar that would take me to the abandoned factory. I had spent Lunaday hiding in the 'dark park' beneath the city, where the homeless and criminals stayed out of sight. Then I had wandered around Baticul all of Ifritday, and stayed at the Inn that night under the name of 'Arlynde'.

Now it was time to leave.

I stepped off of the air car and took a deep breath. The dank, oily smell of the factory invaded my nose, but it wasn't as if I'd never smelled it before. This was my usual fallback, and not even _he_ knew about it.

I didn't make it very far before I froze in shock as a voice rang out.

"So, you did manage to survive his trap."

The voice could have been mine. I could have spoken those words, and no one listening in would have ever realized that it wasn't me.

I turned to look behind me. Maybe I hadn't been so paranoid after all… "How long have you been following me?" I demanded of the teen that stood there. His black bangs fell into his face, two venomous green eyes glaring at me.

"I was in Daath, after one of the lesser Maestros, when I caught word that Daemione was going to be attempting to assassinate the Grand Maestro," he started, stepping out of the shadows into the light that shone down through a vent in the roof. Pale skin shone, bright against the black clothing he wore.

"Let me guess. You knew that you hadn't taken the job, so it had to be me, because Ryndor goes by the name of 'Nelenor' when he has a job," I spat. The other teen grinned viciously.

"So, the replica isn't an idiot," he sneered before drawing the guns at his hips. I jumped back and drew my own, running to the side as the first shots—his first shots—rang out in the dark factory.

"When can we quit with this, Danté?" I asked. "You've hated me since you found out that Rhunön had created me, and I didn't even know what I was at the time."

Danté's glare intensified as he shot off another round and jumped back, a fonic glyph glowing around his feet. "Burn in hell, replica," he hissed. I groaned and took the opportunity to shoot a few rounds at him, not that they stopped him from casting. "Ascend, o sacred beast of the abyss! Leviathan!"

I cursed and jumped to the side, not quickly enough to avoid the attack altogether, but enough that it was a glancing blow. "Well excuse me for trying to forget about you and get on with my life!" I shouted. "I don't give a damn if you hate me or not, I don't want anything to do with you!"

Danté laughed, a sinister sound that worried me. "You've gotten soft, replica. I remember a time when you would take any opportunity provided to you to attempt to strike me down," he commented. "What happened to that cold-hearted killer, you piece of trash?!"

I growled as my vision went red. He knew how to hit all the right nerves, didn't he?

I shot off one more round before jumping up to higher ground and settling into a defensive stance. Danté would likely take the chance to do to me what I did to him earlier, but I hoped that I could keep my concentration long enough to pull this off.

"What, you're going to try to hit me with a fonic arte now?" Danté taunted before throwing his head back and laughing, too amused to even bother attacking me. "That's a trip! Way to seal your fate, replica!"

I smirked. "O demon of the earth, open thy jaws and crush mine enemies! Chasm!" I chanted. The arte erupted underneath the too-busy-laughing-to-dodge teen that was my original.

Danté cried out in pain and anger before unleashing another barrage of bullets on me. I jumped away, aiming for him but missing as my vision started swimming. I growled under my breath as he started laughing again.

"You always were a weakling, just like that pitiful replica they call the Fon Master," Danté said, dodging my next two shots.

"So what? I've still got one advantage over you!" I shouted as he jumped back, preparing to use another arte. I frowned and unleashed hell on him, angrier than I had been in months.

"It won't matter than Rhunön gave you the ability to use the seventh fonon if you're dead!" he countered. "Break free, o tainted light, and smite mine enemies!"

My eyes widened as I made a break for it. Of all the artes he could have used…

"Archangel's Wing!"

I realized a moment too late that running had been the wrong call, and my screams echoing through the factory were my testimony of that. I couldn't move, and it felt like Archangel's Wing was tearing my body apart fonon by fonon.

As the light from the arte faded and dropped me limply to the ground, Danté's face—my face, but with two green eyes instead of one green and one gold—swam in my vision, a smug smirk firmly in place.

"Man, this factory is just wretched, isn't it?" he taunted. Then he stood up and started walking away. "Have fun dying, because if those wounds don't kill you, I'm sure the infection will, and your precious Halo won't be able to help with that, will it?"

I groaned and forced myself to my knees. "Damn… you… Danté…" I hissed, beginning to crawl back to the aircar. It wasn't that far, but could I make it? If I could just hit the button to send it back up, maybe the guard on duty would get me the medical attention I needed.

I cried out as my right knee gave in under me, slamming my shoulder into the grating I was trying to crawl along.

If I had to drag myself to the aircar, then dammit, I would!

My vision was starting to go dark as I crawled into it and hit the button to send me back to Baticul, but there was one last thing I wanted to do, just to prove to myself that I could. I popped an Orange Gel in my mouth and took a deep breath, gathering up seventh fonons as quickly as I could.

"O divine ring of purity and grace… Halo…" I whispered. I sighed as I felt some of the gashes in my body close up. I didn't need to look to know that I was far from healed, but at least now I wouldn't lose as much blood.

The aircar stopped, and I blinked, moving over toward the exit.

I didn't get far before my vision went dark, and the last thing I heard before my head hit the ground was a girl's voice, crying out that someone was hurt.

***-.-*-.-*-.-***

I frowned.

Was I dead?

No, I didn't think so. At least, I'd gotten out of the factory… right?

Yeah, now I remember. That girl was calling for help.

Oh… So I was probably in a medical facility. That would explain why the bed felt too comfortable.

The frown had just melted away when it appeared again. How long had I been out? And why couldn't I feel any of my wounds?

I finally deigned to open my eyes, and blinked a couple of times. The light coming through the window was soft and pink… Had I been out for a day, or was the sun setting?

I sat up slowly, careful not to aggravate any wounds, though it seemed that they had all been healed. Likely by a seventh fonist, but why? Usually medics would heal you to the point of non-life-threatening and then leave it at that.

I sighed when I realized that the black sweatpants and gray tank top weren't mine either. Glancing around the room brought even more questions to my mind, 'Where am I?' being first and foremost among them.

This couldn't be a healing facility, there was just no way it was possible.

I raised an eyebrow when I spotted my clothes sitting nice and neat on the table near the window. My guns and holsters sat in the chair next to it, and it was obvious from even over here that my clothes were clean and stitched up.

I bent a knee and propped my elbow against it. What in the world was going on?

"Oh, you're awake!"

I blinked and turned toward the door. A young woman with blonde hair and hazel eyes stood there looking at me… wait, was that pride in her eyes?

I blinked a couple more times in shock. "Yeah… And alive… and comfortable. The latter of which being very much new, and therefore rather _uncomfortable_ ," I replied. She stepped into the room with a giggle, and I guessed from her blue-green dress and her posture that she was Kimlascan nobility. Basically, that meant I'd have to mind my manners.

"So, um… You're welcome, I guess?" she said. I frowned as some of the puzzle pieces started to slip into place.

"Then, I can assume you were the one to heal me?" I asked. The young woman nodded.

"Yes. I was out for a walk yesterday morning when I saw the aircar come up out of the factory. I thought it was strange, since it was abandoned some time ago, but I'm glad I went to investigate. You would have died if I hadn't," she told me. I sighed as she walked over to stand next to the bed. "Um… May I ask why you were down there?"

I smiled wryly. "I was trying to get someone off my tail," I admitted. "Unfortunately, I neglected to realize that there was someone else who was onto me."

The blonde's eyes widened in shock. "Someone wanted you dead?" she asked, horrified. I scoffed.

"Don't act so surprised. I'm actually kinda shocked you haven't been told who I am by someone yet," I stated. The girl sighed.

"Father said that your name was Danté Daemione, and that you were an assassin. He begged to leave you to the medics, but…" she trailed off. Then she noticed the grimace on my face. "Oh no, did I miss one of your injuries?!" she cried worriedly, leaning over me to look for any wounds.

I blinked at her before I started chuckling. She looked at me indignantly, and I waved my hand dismissively. "No, that's not… I…" I said, stopping to hold a hand over my mouth. Wow… This girl either has no common sense, or she's just as pure-hearted as…

Any humor I might have felt disappeared instantly as I thought of Kairi. I'm sure that by this point she would have found out about the trap Mohs had nearly caught me in. It made me wonder what had happened to her, and what she thought of the whole thing.

"Um… Are you alright?"

I blinked, drawn back to reality abruptly by the blonde at my bedside.

I sighed. "I'm fine. And while your father is correct on the note that I am an assassin, my name is Dark Daemione, not Danté. Danté… was the one who attacked me in the factory," I told her. She gasped.

"What? Why?! If Father thought you were him, then you must look somewhat alike… Why would he attack his own family?!" she cried. I raised an eyebrow.

"We were raised by two different adoptive parents, and ever since he found out about me, Danté has hated me and now he wants me dead. Personally, I hate him and wouldn't care if I never saw him again in my life. So you'll have to forgive me if I'm not exactly horrified because he attacked me," I stated bluntly. She blinked in surprise.

"Oh… that's horrible…" she whispered. I sighed.

"I haven't known a time when Danté didn't hate me, so I'm afraid I can't put my two cents in on that," I told her. Then I frowned. "So… Satisfy my curiosity, will you please? What's your name?" I asked, changing the subject.

The girl smiled. "My name is Natalia," she replied. Then she frowned. "You know… Father was really opposed to me healing you. He was worried that you would try to hurt me," she confessed. I sighed and slipped my legs out from under the covers.

"I won't kill a human unless I've got good reason to do so. Usually, 'good reason' means I'm getting paid for it," I told her. "Not that I'd be an assassin anyway, if I had the choice."

Natalia frowned. "What do you mean, 'if you had the choice'?" she wondered. I looked over my shoulder.

"Avert your eyes, please," I ordered, pulling my pants out of the pile. Natalia blushed and turned away. "And to answer your question, well…"

"You mean, you don't want to be an assassin?" Natalia asked. I sighed as I pulled the familiar black pants on.

"No. But, with the reputation Danté and I have built up around us, neither of us can get a job doing anything else, and you've gotta pay for food somehow," I stated. Then I pulled my black tank top on. "You're safe to turn around now," I added.

Natalia turned and sat down on the bed as I started pulling socks and boots on. "You know… I could give you a job as my bodyguard, if you wanted to put your past behind you," she said. I looked up at her in shock.

"And why would you be willing to do that?" I inquired. She took a deep breath.

"Because you… aren't all that much like I thought you would be," she said quietly. I smirked.

"You're the princess of Kimlasca, and yet you're standing here talking to me as if I were the son of a Kimlascan lord. Not what I expected, either," I told her. She smiled and giggled.

"Well, I suppose that if we carry nothing else away from this conversation, there's one thing," she said. I strapped the first holster into place and smirked.

"And what would that be?" I asked. She smiled at me, an honest, genuine smile that almost made my own smirk falter.

"Don't judge someone before you've gotten to know them," she stated. I chuckled, thinking of Kairi as well.

"Yeah, definitely a good life lesson there," I agreed, finally slipping my coat on.

Then the unwelcome intrusion showed up.

"Natalia, get away from him!" a somewhat elderly man yelled, limping as quickly as he could over to where Natalia was still seated on the bed.

"Father!" she cried in shock.

I was too busy glaring at the dark-haired man that had followed the king into the room, as well as the dozen or so Oracle Knights and Kimlascan soldiers that were behind him.

"So, this is where you ran to," Mohs said smugly.

"Natalia, that boy tried to kill Grand Maestro Mohs on Remday!" King Ingobert informed his daughter. I sighed as Natalia stood angrily.

"He was just trying to do his job! He doesn't have anywhere else to go, any other options!" she argued. I sighed as Mohs spoke again.

"Princess Natalia, it is highly likely that anything and everything this boy has told you is a lie," Mohs stated.

"Speaking of lies… Next time you set a trap, don't set it off before your intended prey actually walks into it," I grumbled, carefully unlocking the doors that led onto a balcony. Mohs glared at me as Natalia stared at him in shock.

"Trap?! What trap?!" she yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"Natalia, do yourself a favor. Stop digging your own grave," I said. Then I looked over at Mohs, a smug grin firmly in place once more. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I've kept Koran waiting long enough."

Then I opened the door, turned, and jumped from the balcony.

* * *

**_Fun Fact:_ ** _Ah... Dark. His relationships with Mohs, Ingobert, and Natalia are... amusing, to say the least._

_Needless to say, this chapter is massively important to plot development later on. After all... Natalia_ did _just offer him a job as her bodyguard, didn’t she? -evil cackle-_


	16. Chapter 3.5 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... Since the Ripples Trilogy is now finished and I'm due to start posting the first book of the Lights Trilogy in three days, I'm going to do my best to get Re:ARitA and Re:AST posted in full by the New Year.
> 
> ...It's a plan. Can't promise it's a good plan, but it's a plan.
> 
> (My formatting should be right...)

_*Poor kid. He got caught in an avalanche, heckled by Cantabile, and now he's got nothing to do.* -Kairi_

* * *

 

"Ah, Gnomeday."

*There something special about that?* Asch asked me. I smirked.

"Last day of the week," I told him. He rolled his eyes.

*Yeah. So?*

I sighed. "So, that means I've survived an entire week and now have another to look forward to," I replied. I got the impression of Asch massaging his temples, and seeing as how he was on the second plane, that was completely possible, so it didn't really surprise me.

*Sometimes, I can't tell if you're optimistic or pessimistic,* he muttered. I chuckled.

"Try realistic, with a dash of one or the other depending on the situation. It's midday, I've eaten a good lunch, and no one's pissed me off yet, so I'm in a good mood. Hence, optimism," I stated. Asch sighed.

*And talking out loud, seemingly to yourself, as well,* he commented. I rolled my eyes and stood, grabbing my weapons as I went. *Where are you going?*

"To see if those two iron crabs are still there," I replied, half-sarcastically.

*Iron crabs?* Asch wondered. I made a face at the memory.

"They ran into and petrified each other," I told him.

*Is that even possible?*

I shrugged. "I guess so, or they wouldn't have been able to pull it off," I said. Then I drew a set of arrows and let one fly into a water bat. The next two arrows followed the first before I ran off to the side a bit and let off another set.

Sadly, six arrows was all it took to kill the bat. I sighed. "Man, I am getting so bored of this place," I grumbled.

*Why don't we head back to Daath now? It's been a week, maybe things have calmed down a bit,* Asch suggested hopefully. I didn't blame him. Things had been rather awkward the last few days.

"We'll head back to Daath tomorrow morning. I'm thinking we're going to camp out in that grassy area just outside the caverns for tonight," I told him. "Besides, I thought I told you that I'd let you try to light a fire tonight. We need firewood for that."

Asch chuckled. *Yeah, that's true,* he agreed. He was silent for a while as we--well, _I--_ wandered through the caverns. *Hey, Kairi? You never did tell me how you knew about Luke.*

I frowned. It wasn't over the fact that he really didn't sound angry about me withholding that information, though that did make me wonder a little. No, it was the fact that I had no idea what to tell him. I couldn't explain Tales of the Abyss, now could I?

I sighed. "Honestly, if I told you the truth, you wouldn't believe a word of it. And really, when I say that I know what I've seen, I'm being serious," I told him quietly. I heard Asch sigh.

*You know what he is, too... Don't you?* he asked, though the resigned tone in his voice had me baffled. I had to wonder how much I could tell him before the suspicion returned.

"He's a replica of you, created about seven years ago. It was covered up by the claim of it being Malkuth's fault, and his lack of memories was written off as amnesia," I said slowly. I knew I was pushing my luck, but he'd already told me how to escape Daath, and if I could just keep on the move, he would never be able to catch me. He'd be caught up in the mess that I liked to refer to as 'the game events' too, which meant that he'd probably forget about me after a couple months.

*Closer to six and a half years, actually, maybe a couple months past that point... It'll be seven as of Rem-Decan 23,* he told me. I frowned. Wasn't that the day the game started on? So, Luke and Tear get blasted out of the manor on Luke's seventh birthday?

"The fact that you haven't made any mention of trying to arrest me again is starting to make me wonder, you know," I commented, trying to get my mind off of that mildly disturbing fact.

Asch sighed again. *I'll be honest... I don't want to anymore. Aside from the fact that I've been stuck in your body, these last few days have been the most interesting since... well... it's been a while,* he admitted. *I'm half-tempted to... uh... never mind.*

I frowned. "Half-tempted to what?" I prompted. Asch must have been biting his lip, because I suddenly wanted to as well.

*Well... I kinda... er...* he stuttered. Then he sighed. *Iwanttogowithyoualright?* he blurted out as quickly as he could. Which, considering the fact that he didn't have a tongue to slow him down, was pretty fast.

I stopped and blinked. "Uh, did I really just hear that right?" I asked in shock. Asch sighed again.

*Never mind,* he grumbled, obviously taking my reply as a rejection. I crossed my arms.

"No, I'm serious. Did you really just say that you wanted to come with me?" I wondered. He must have felt my utter bewilderment, because he took a deep breath (even though he didn't really need it) and replied.

*Yeah, I want to go with you,* he stated carefully. I frowned.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind, but... um... Do you really feel like giving Van another reason to want to skin me alive?" I replied. I felt an echo of the urge to cringe, and figured that Asch had performed the action.

*Remember that escape route I outlined for you? Put me back, then get out of there and meet me in the bay in the morning. I can deal with Van,* he said. I sighed.

"Why don't we wait to make our plans until we know for sure what we're going to do, okay?" I suggested. Then I blinked. "Oh my gods, they're still here..."

*You have got to be kidding me! They seriously petrified each other?* Asch asked in shock. I held a hand over my mouth as I laughed at the iron crabs.

"Wow... Talk about stupid," I muttered. Asch started laughing, and it took us a good ten minutes before we finally managed to pull ourselves away from the petrified crabs.

When we emerged into the sunlight again, I took a deep breath and grinned. "Not that I didn't find Aramis Spring to be a beautiful place, but I'd rather not spend so long here next time," I stated.

*Let's just hope that any 'next times' we're in our own bodies,* Asch said. I made a face.

"Yes, let's," I agreed. Then I started looking around and, after placing my bow and quiver against a tree, I wandered around, picking up any and all sticks I could find and carrying them back to a central point. I was about to hand things over to Asch, see if he could actually light the fire, when a thought popped into my head.

I slipped onto the second plane and watched as Asch played around with the Energies and fonons that floated around us.

*I want to try something real quick,* I told him. He looked over his shoulder and frowned.

*Could it be at all hazardous?* he questioned. I cringed, reminded of the mess I had made while messing around with water, earth, and moon Energies the day before yesterday.

*No. I've done this before, once, but not on this scale. The worst it could do is exhaust me the way stubborn Energies always do,* I replied. He shrugged.

*I won't argue then,* he said.

I shrugged and turned back to the neat pile of sticks. *I'd have done it even if you had argued,* I informed him. He rolled his eyes.

*That doesn't surprise me,* he stated. I chuckled and started drawing on water and earth Energies. The earth Energies drew minerals out of the soil, but it took me a while to find the specific mineral I was after.

Then, after using the water and moon Energies to make that mineral soak into the wood, I released all of the spare Energies I had gathered, collecting up fire and sun Energies now and using them to dry the now-damp sticks.

Once I was done, a grin spread across my face. *Your turn, Asch,* I stated. I had explained the day before how to do this, even demonstrating here and there. Now, to see if he had actually paid attention.

Asch sat cross-legged next to where I was sitting beside my body and pulled the fire Energies he had been messing around with along for the ride.

I grinned as I watched him collect up a mass of them, followed quickly by a mass of sun, moon, and wind Energies. He set the red Energies around the pile of wood before feeding the second mass into the first.

A couple of sparks lit before the fire bloomed full force, except...

*That's neat,* Asch commented in wonder at the blue-ish flames. I laughed.

*Driftwood burns blue because of the sea-salt. But the same salt that's in the ocean can be found in the soil beneath us. A few earth Energies to isolate that salt, and then some water Energies to soak the salt into the wood, and you've got yourself some driftwood that's never seen a large body of salt water,* I told him. He smiled as he watched the flames dance.

*And there's another reason why I've enjoyed these last few days. For every minute we get on each other's nerves, we learn something new from one another,* he said quietly. I smiled.

*True,* I admitted. Then I looked toward the sky. *So, I realize this is going back in time to... was it yesterday or the day before? Anyway... Who shall I try to freak out tomorrow?* I asked. Asch blinked a couple of times before smiling and chuckling.

*Sync, maybe?* he suggested. I frowned.

*Will he even still be in Daath?* I wondered. Asch laughed.

*Oh yeah. Van took him off-duty for two weeks after the avalanche incident, and he doesn't have anywhere else to go, so...* he replied. I sighed.

*Poor kid. He got caught in an avalanche, heckled by Cantabile, and now he's got nothing to do,* I muttered. Asch frowned.

*When you put it like that...* he trailed off. I grinned.

*Not quite as funny anymore, is it?* I asked. Asch shrugged.

*Eh, I still think it's amusing.*

I laughed and slipped back into my body, grabbing my bow and heading away from the caverns. *Where are you going now?* Asch grumbled. I looked over my shoulder and grinned, making use of my eight spirit Energies to see the abnormally bright glowing shape that was still sitting by the fire.

"Dinner," I replied, walking off. I didn't go far, because I knew that since Asch hadn't come with me, his spirit would be destabilized if my Energy Core was too far away.

I did, however, manage to shoot down a bird and grab it before its fonons could separate. It wouldn't be much, but at least we'd have some meat. Asch and I switched places while he cleaned the damn bird. I watched in fascination, and believe me, you would have, too.

Let's put it this way. I was sitting there on the second plane, and my body was seemingly moving on its own.

Yeah, slightly disturbing.

Asch knew what he was doing though (even if my body didn't, evidenced by the cut on my left thumb from two nights ago) and before I realized it, he had the bird cleaned and was cutting the meat from its bones. I smiled softly and started singing.

_*Constant as the stars above, always know that you are loved. And my love shining in you will help you make your dreams come true, will help your dreams come true~*_

* * *

_**Fun** **Fact:** ...I have no idea why I was so obsessed with that song at the time I was writing this the first time... Also, for everyone having trouble with the timeline due to the day names, Kairi and Asch landed in Aramis Spring on Monday, Dark met Natalia Wednesday, and this happened Saturday~_


	17. Chapter 3.6 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sync's POV again~

_"I don't think publicly declaring that you're crazy is such a good idea either." -Sync_

* * *

**Sync's POV**

"And where do you think you're going?"

I growled and turned my head slightly, not even bothering to really look over my shoulder. I didn't have to, I knew who it was.

"I'm going for a walk, Legretta. If Van won't let me do anything else, then dammit I'm getting out of here for an hour!" I told her before walking off... Okay, so maybe 'storming off' would be more appropriate.

Suffice to say, no one else dared to even try to speak with me.

I was finally going to be back on-duty again tomorrow, but after the whole assassin fiasco and Asch going into a coma for no apparent reason--I knew it had to do with that weird circle Kairi had drawn, but I hadn't spoken a word about that to anybody--Van had insisted that I stay in Daath.

Mohs had gotten back yesterday from Baticul, angrier than a liger queen defending her eggs because Daemione had been there, been healed by the princess, and then escaped after taunting him for almost three minutes.

I wanted to pat the guy on the back. I never cared for Mohs, it's his fault I exist in the first place. Why did Van and Ion have to go along with it?

Oh, right. The Fon Master was sick and with no one to succeed him.

I groaned as I stepped out of the city. Hadn't I come out here to cool off? Thinking about Mohs certainly wasn't going to help my case at all.

I wasn't really paying attention as I wandered along the road, my eyes on the dirt beneath my feet. A tune I had heard once, a long time ago, slipped into my mind, and I hummed it happily. There was no one around to hear, so what did I care?

I kicked a stone and watched in fascination as it skipped along, in perfect rhythm with the tune I was humming.

"That's a neat trick."

My eyes widened as I spun around. Then I blinked twice. "Who are you?" I wondered. The girl giggled. She was younger than me, or at least she looked like it, and her sky blue hair was cut short, not even touching her shoulders. A silver and pink flower pin held some of her bangs back.

The girl smiled and slipped her hands behind her back. "I'm Aerith. What about you? What's your name?" she asked, her light voice carrying a tone of laughter even though she seemed completely serious.

"Sync," I answered bluntly. This girl was... definitely different.

Aerith opened her mouth, probably to comment on my bluntness, before her eyes widened. "Behind you!"

I turned my head and cursed as I jumped back out of the way of the bee that had about stabbed me with its stinger. "Thanks for the warning," I said, running to attack the damn thing. The girl giggled.

"No problem," she replied, holding her hands to her chest and gathering fonons. I wasn't sure whether to be thankful for her help, or angry at the small hoard of monsters that was now attacking us. "Howl, o raging wind, and cleave mine enemies with your blade!"

I smirked as Aerith's Turbulence killed off two of the bees before I set into attacking the next monster. This one was a wolf instead, and it fell quickly.

I turned to see Aerith unleash a Raging Blast on the last bee, killing it as well. "That was easy," she commented cheerfully, her blue eyes glittering. I crossed my arms.

"The monsters around here aren't all that strong," I stated bluntly. "Now what are you doing here?"

Aerith shrugged. "My big brother's in Daath, picking up groceries, so I felt like wandering around and amusing myself," she stated. I frowned.

"Well, amuse yourself elsewhere," I grumbled, walking off. The girl heaved a heavy sigh and, thankfully, headed off in the opposite direction.

I huffed and wandered down the road. She had caught me humming. That bugged me beyond belief.

I was still so caught up in my thoughts that I barely... okay, I didn't hear her the first two times she called my name.

"Sync!"

I finally looked up, startled, and stared in shock at the young woman standing only a few yards away from me.

"Kairi?" I asked cautiously. She smiled and nodded.

"Nice to see that you're no longer in La-La Land.," she commented. "So, where were you off to?"

I shrugged. "No where in particular. I've just been trying to--Wait..." I trailed off. Then I growled. "What the hell did you do to Asch?"

She cringed. "In my defense, it was completely accidental... Well, no, not completely, but the first half was accidental and the second half was spur-of-the-moment because I was panicking, and you'd have been panicking in that situation too," she told me quickly. I sighed.

"You realize he's in a coma, right?" I asked. Kairi nodded.

"Yeah. I'd have thought that Van would be after my head by now though," she admitted. I shrugged.

"He never asked me what happened down there and I never told him," I said simply. "Is he going to recover?"

She sighed. "I can fix this if I can get to him," she told me. I frowned.

"How do I know you're not going to make him worse instead of better?" I asked suspiciously. I didn't like it at all, but at this point...

Kairi smirked. "That's a good question. I guess you won't know until I've gotten a chance to do anything, now will you?" she replied. I could help but smirk right back. I liked this girl more and more every time I had a proper conversation with her.

I shrugged. "Well, I suppose I could take you into the cathedral under the excuse of having invited you, which I did, and wanting to show you something, which I don't. So long as Van isn't in Asch's room, it shouldn't be a problem," I said. Kairi nodded.

"It won't take me long, but I might need someplace to crash afterwards," she told me. "It'll severely drain my strength to heal him properly and... well... " she trailed off. I nodded.

"I can get you a guest room on the floor below ours while you're healing Asch," I said. "Then, should we get going?"

She nodded. "Yeah, let's--monsters!" she warned, pulling a few arrows from the quiver on her back and firing one behind me. I turned and growled.

"Damn it, what is it with these things attacking me when I'm not alone?" I grumbled. Kairi chuckled, a sound that was hauntingly familiar for whatever reason, before she charged past me and started attacking with the sword that had been sheathed at her side.

I couldn't help but notice how similar to Asch's fighting style her swordsmanship was, and that thought brought a new realization to my mind.

That chuckle from earlier had sounded like Asch!

As I let loose a Reaper's Toll on the last of the wolves, I turned to look at Kairi, who was sheathing her sword with a scowl. This one didn't look anything like Asch's, no, this was definitely hers.

"Thank you," I heard her hiss as I walked over. I frowned and realized that she wasn't actually talking to me. But then, who was she talking to?

Then Kairi sighed and turned back to me. "So... Shall we be going?" she prompted. I nodded, deciding that perhaps pretending like I hadn't heard her would make her slip up again. She was hiding something, I was sure of it, and I wanted to know what.

We reached Fourth Monument Hill without any problems, but there was that girl from earlier again. She turned around and grinned.

"Aw, were you going to get your girlfriend?" Aerith asked.

"Hell no!" Kairi and I chorused. Though, Kairi sounded a bit off. As if someone was talking with her voice. Aerith blinked.

"Oh? Then, who are you?" she asked Kairi. The blonde rolled her eyes, scowl firmly in place now.

"I'm his sister," she lied. Although, I had to admit that it was a good excuse to have reacted the way we had.

Aerith's eyes glittered in understanding as her mouth formed an 'o'. "Oh... Okay. Sorry!" she chirped. Then she skipped right over to Kairi and held out her hand. "My name's Aerith! Pleased to meet you, Sync's sister."

Kairi sighed and shook the offered hand. "Kairi," she stated bluntly. Aerith's expression fell.

"I can see that the bluntness is a family trait..." she deadpanned. Kairi and I smirked. It wasn't intentional, but I guess it helped with the whole sibling act.

"So, what are you doing here now?" I wondered. I couldn't help it, I was curious. This girl and I had run into each other twice today.

Aerith looked at me and grinned. "I'm waiting on my big brother," she replied. "He should be on his way back through here any minute now."

Kairi's eyes lit up, and she blinked a couple of times before crossing her arms. "Your brother's name wouldn't happen to be Reighn, would it?" she asked. I frowned. Kairi knew Aerith's brother?

Apparently so, because Aerith's eyes lit up as she grinned. "Yup, that's him. So, you two have met before?" she replied. Kairi shrugged.

"He kept me from falling and possibly getting a concussion on the ferry to Daath a week ago," she told her. Aerith blinked twice before the grin returned.

"Oh, the girl that had the liger with her. Yeah, Reighn mentioned you a few times," she said happily. I huffed.

"Can we get going now?" I interrupted whatever Kairi was about to say. She got a look on her face that very clearly said 'oh right, we were doing something' before she bit her lip.

"Whoops... I got distracted again..." she muttered. "I thought I told you never to let me get distracted," she commented. I put my hands on my hips, trying to get the point across while she sighed. "Well, as lovely as this conversation was, we really do need to get going."

Aerith giggled. "Yeah, sorry. See you later, I hope!" she said cheerfully as I walked off, pulling Kairi along behind me.

"You've got to heal Asch, remember?" I grumbled once Aerith was out of hearing range. Kairi sighed.

"Sorry... I really am easily distracted," she replied, guilt evident in her voice. I rolled my eyes, not that she could see, and let her arm go.

"Come on, let's just get going. And no distractions this time," I grumbled.

Kairi chuckled, once again sounding very much like Asch. "That won't be a problem," she said. I frowned. Again with the odd feeling that someone was talking through Kairi.

Wait, could it be possible that...

No, that's impossible.

Well, perhaps not...

I looked over my shoulder to see Kairi right behind me. Even her posture now, and the way she was walking, it was just like...

"What happened to Asch?" I asked. Kairi blinked twice before looking off to the side. Her footsteps hesitated for a moment before she resumed walking, but this time there was a subtle sway in her hips that hadn't been there before, and if you'd been watching her head only, it would have looked like she was gliding.

Not at all what she had been doing before.

No, the way she had been moving before was very much _Asch_.

I frowned and spoke before she could. "He isn't actually comatose, is he?" I asked. She blinked again and closed her mouth for a moment.

"Continue that line of thought. I'm curious to see just how far you've gotten," she prompted. I huffed.

"No making fun of me, alright?" I grumbled. Kairi ran a hand through her bangs.

"No offense, but at this point I don't think anything your imagination could come up with would sound more ridiculous than the truth," she muttered. I blinked a couple of times.

With a comment like that, I had to wonder if my theory was really as stupid as it sounded.

I sighed and decided to take a leap of faith. "Asch's mind is in your body too, isn't it?" I asked. Kairi looked over at me in surprise.

"Well... actually, his entire spirit is anchored to my Energy Core, but... yeah, same basic principle. How...?" she wondered. I smirked.

"Just before I asked you what had happened to Asch again... well, you were holding yourself like he does, walking the same way, and there was a bit of frown that's always in Asch's expression. Then after I asked, your gait and bearing changed completely," I stated. Kairi crossed her arms.

"Told you so," she said in a sing-song voice, looking off in a random direction. Judging from the amused expression on her face, Asch was probably grumbling out a reply.

"You know, if you keep talking to him, people are gonna think that you're talking to yourself. And then they'll assume that you're crazy," I stated. Kairi shrugged.

"I _am_ crazy, and I _do_ talk to myself, rather often. Asch can attest to that, considering how many times I've snapped at him over the last week that no, I was not talking to him," she replied. I shook my head.

"I don't think publicly declaring that you're crazy is such a good idea either."

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** And Kairi cares... why?_

_So, I was reading back over this, and I have to wonder... When Sync was humming a song and then kicked the rock and it bounced along in perfect time with the song... Has anyone had that happen to them before? I've personally never had that happen exactly, but a friend of mine likes to randomly bob her head like she's listening to music, except she isn't and I am, and she's usually doing it in perfect time with the music even though she can't hear it and I'm not telling her what I'm listening to... It's kinda freaky._

_This also happens all the time with Skype emojis. The dancing ones, especially. They'll dance in time with my music. It's so creepy..._


	18. Chapter 3.7 - Asch and Aramis Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one... Hoping to post the rest of Chapter 3 and all of Chapter 4 tonight, but... Clock's ticking.

_"While it's nice to know that yes, Van does have a heart... I would have liked to learn it another way." -Kairi_

* * *

*Do I need to ask Sync to contain you? Since we're now certain that he can tell the difference between us,* Asch asked. I rolled my eyes.

*Shush,* I muttered. Asch chuckled and retreated a ways. How I could feel that was something that I had picked up over the week that we had been stuck in my body together.

"Well, here goes nothing," Sync commented. I sighed.

"Actually, here goes a lot. Let's just hope it comes to nothing, because if it comes to something, it's gonna come to shit, and we don't need any of that. We've got enough as it is," I replied. Sync shot a look over his shoulder, and I reached back and nudged Asch.

*Well, should I?* I asked. Asch must have been smirking, because I wanted to as well.

*I wanna see the look on his face. Or, well... as much of his face as we can see,* he replied. I grinned and took a deep breath, reaching out with my mind toward Sync.

It felt like something had snapped into place the moment I touched his mind, and I grinned even wider.

*Hello.*

Sync's head shot up and he turned to look at me, wide grin and all, as I walked behind him.

"You... you just... your voice..." he stuttered. I attempted an innocent look.

*What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?* I teased telepathically. Sync must have been staring at me for a while before, rather tentatively, he replied in his thoughts.

*You're telepathic?*

I giggled and nodded before letting my mind slip back into its usual place. "Yes, but I've actually never used it before. It's something rather new," I told him. "Now... weren't we going to Asch's room?"

Sync started when he realized that I had successfully distracted him even after telling him not to let _me_ get distracted.

"Yeah, come on," he prompted, walking off quickly. Once inside the city, Sync wasted no time leading me into the cathedral and toward one of the fonic glyphs.

"Here. This will take us most of the way there, and it's only a short walk from where this one comes out," he told me. The two of us (with Asch back-seat-driving from my head) stepped onto the glyph.

Sync frowned once we emerged however, and I didn't blame him.

"Sync? Finally back? You've been gone a few hours. And who is this?" Legretta asked. I frowned and reached out toward Sync's mind quickly.

*Does she know I'm not your sister?* I asked. Sync's negative thoughts answered that question for me before I gave Legretta the same excuse I had given Aerith.

The blonde woman nodded. "I see. Though, you never mentioned you had a sister," she said, looking toward Sync. The green-haired boy frowned.

"I couldn't contact her to ask her to come, and besides, not a lot of people know. And to be honest, we like to keep it that way," he told her. Legretta looked dismissive, as if she didn't really care, which she probably didn't.

"Commandant Grants has an assignment for you first thing tomorrow morning, by the way. Apparently Asch arrested someone just before he went comatose, but we have no idea who, since they seem to have escaped already. He wants to have you looking into it as soon as possible," she informed him. I sighed.

"Looks like we're not gonna have a lot of time then, huh?" I said, genuine regret in my voice. I was referring to Asch and I leaving Daath, but Legretta would have taken it to mean my time visiting Sync.

"You know you can visit him whenever you'd like, right? He just might not always be here," she told me. I shrugged.

"What's it matter? I've never even been to this continent before in my life, and as lovely as my time here has been, I'd like to get back to the continents I usually roam, like Rugnica and the Ispanian peninsula," I stated. Then, nudging Sync, I added, "Now, if you'd be so kind as to excuse us..."

Sync took the hint and led me past Legretta and into a room. I had a feeling it would be his, not Asch's, and the lack of familiarity from Asch confirmed my suspicions.

"Damn," Sync muttered, closing the door. "If Legretta's hanging around, that means that Van is likely here visiting Asch, which means we can't get into his room. And if we can't get into his room..." he trailed off. I sighed.

"I can't put him back in his own body," I mumbled, completing his thought. I frowned and reached out tentatively with my mind.

*Asch, don't make a sound,* I warned the redhead I was currently sharing a body with before I touched Legretta's mind.

'... _strange that Sync would bring her up here, even if she is his sister, which I doubt... didn't that soldier say he was the one who found Asch? ..If they're conspiring together... wait, could she be the one Asch arrested? It was supposed to be a blonde female, and she certainly matches that description...'_

I pulled out of Legretta's mind as the telepathy began to put a strain on my own mind. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, opening up another telepathic channel with Sync, hoping that it would help to disconnect and re-connect like this rather than simply shifting. Of course, if that wasn't the case, I was just going to seriously need a place to crash once I was done with Asch.

*She's definitely not stupid, Kairi,* Asch commented. I sighed.

*Well no duh, I figured that out. Still, if Legretta suspects us, this could complicate things. Especially if I need to make a getaway but I'm too exhausted to do so,* I replied. Sync crossed his arms and leaned against the door.

*She's not listening in, is she?* he asked. I shook my head. "Then don't bother with the telepathy. Besides, she'll probably find it strange if she doesn't hear any voices."

I frowned and withdrew from his mind. "I was trying to keep Asch in the conversation but..." I trailed off.

*Don't worry about me. At this point, there's really nothing I can do,* he commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Your input has been very helpful, thank you..." I grumbled. Then I wandered over to Sync's bed and sat down. "But we're probably going to be stuck here for a bit, so.."

Sync frowned and was quiet for a while. "How far does your telepathy reach?" he wondered. I thought for a moment.

"Not that far, but... just so I know, why?" I asked. Sync took a deep breath.

"Use your telepathy to see if Van is in Asch's room. Then, as soon as Legretta is gone, we can jump across the hall, put Asch's spirit back, and you can crash in here for the night if you have to," he stated. I smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Sync," I said quietly before closing my eyes and slipping out of my body. I touched his mind for a moment. *I'm leaving Asch with my body. Be back shortly,* I warned him before walking off, not that he could see me at that point. I looked at the door and took a deep breath. I hated doing this, and with good reason.

You see, it's perfectly possible to walk through things, even other people, while on the second plane (although the latter is dangerous if the person you're walking through has two spirit Energies more or less than you do). Unfortunately... well, you can't just close your eyes and block out anything you could possibly see in the situation that you do go through something.

And trust me, there are some things you just don't want to see (the inside of another human's body, being a prime example).

Then I stepped through the door and, after shuddering at the sensation, looked around. Legretta was still standing where we had left her.

*Hmm... Across the hall and to the right, coming from Asch's room, so... Eh, still across the hall and to the right,* I muttered to myself, wandering over to the door in question and stepping forward, putting my leg into it.

Then the door opened, and since I was already mid-step, I had no way to avoid the man that was walking out.

I let the pull from my Energy Core snap me back to my body as I fought the urge to throw up. Asch slipped to the side immediately as I resurfaced in my body, but I almost wish he hadn't as I looked around Sync's room, holding one hand to my mouth to keep it closed while the other held my stomach.

The look on my face (and the fact that I had probably turned green) must have told Sync that I was going to be sick, because he pointed to a spot near the head of his bed, and I almost grinned when I spotted the chamber pot there.

Unfortunately, the small smile that appeared on my face was enough to let my stomach know that it was relatively safe to release its contents.

*Ugh... That's nice...* Asch grumbled from the back of my mind as I got to the point of dry-heaving. I growled, a low, feral sound that was only made more frightening by my now-sore throat.

"I'd like to see you try to hold your stomach when you, on the second plane, walk through someone on the first plane," I muttered. Sync frowned.

"Excuse me?" he wondered. I hung my head there, bent over the pot, until I was sure I wasn't going to throw up anything else.

"This world exists on two planes. The first is the physical plane, the one we're on right now. I've learned how to detach from my body and move around on the second plane, the spiritual... And unfortunately, there's no such thing as truly closing your eyes on the second plane. You can focus wholly on one thing and not sense anything around you, but..." I trailed off.

Sync cringed. "Let me guess... when you walk through someone, you get to look at their innards?" he said quietly. I gave him a look.

"While it's nice to know that yes, Van _does_ have a heart... I would have liked to learn it another way," I told him bluntly.

I felt disgust from Asch, but it was more of an 'oh gods that is _gross_ ' than 'oh gods why _him_ '.

Sync looked like he wasn't sure whether to shudder, join me in throwing up his lunch, or laugh.

*How did you even walk through him?* Asch asked. I sighed.

"Well excuse me for walking through the door into your room," I muttered angrily. Then there was a knock on Sync's door, and the two of us looked up at it with wide eyes. "If he asks, I ate a bad apple," I mumbled quickly with a gesture to the chamber pot, knowing that it was probably Van, who knew without a doubt that I was not Sync's sister.

Sync opened the door with a scowl in place. Sure enough, it was Van, though a quick mental scan showed that Legretta was nowhere in sight.

Van spotted me, bent over the chamber pot and very much pale in the face, and must have decided that he didn't want to ask, because he looked back at Sync.

"I take it Legretta informed you of your assignment?" he prompted. Sync nodded.

"Find the person Asch arrested before he went comatose," he stated, his tone bored. Van glanced back at me as I watched with slight interest. Just knowing that I had walked _through_ him and seeing him standing there was making me want to start dry-heaving again (since I was definitely out of anything to really vomit).

"Are you alright?" he asked cautiously. I groaned and closed my eyes, turning back toward the chamber pot.

"I'll be fine..." I muttered. A few moments later, I heard the door shut and looked up.

"You're not gonna be able to actually look at him for a while, are you?" Sync asked, pity in his voice. I cringed.

"Eh... Nope."

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** Kairi manages two walk-throughs in the Ripples Trilogy. First one is here. Second one involves (and was the fault of) one of the boys in the room with her while she's throwing up from this round._


	19. Chapter 4.1 - Running from Daath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Chapter 4~

_'No wonder I could never find the God-Generals' rooms in the game...' -Kairi_

* * *

*Ah, finally!*

I sighed and stepped over to the bed where Asch's body laid perfectly still, save for the slow rise and fall of his chest. "Yeah, yeah. Just hang tight for another half an hour or so. I've got a lot of checking to do," I grumbled. Sync was standing just inside the doorway, listening for voices out in the hallway.

I had told him that Legretta had gotten suspicious, and now he was worried (well, maybe that's a bit too strong a word) that she would tell Van about her suspicions and he would come barging in on us.

I put that out of my mind and knelt next to Asch's bed, slipping out of my body to check over his Energy Core.

True, I had no idea what his normal ratios were, but I figured, from his personality, that his wind and fire Energies would be a ratio similar to my earth and water Energies, and that he'd have more water than earth.

Either my guesses were spot-on, or his Energy Core was really messed up (but more likely the former). Of course, he had way more sun Energies than moon Energies, and... ooh, four spirit Energies. Cool...

Okay, stop getting distracted.

I slipped back into my body and started pulling together Energies, weaving the water Energies I needed through Asch's spirit. I felt his mind disconnect from mine as the wind Energies came into play, forcing him out of my body and detaching him from my Energy Core.

The water Energies would only sustain him for so long though, so as soon as Asch's spirit was contained within his body, I pulled the earth Energies into play to anchor him there while I re-attached his spirit to his Energy Core.

I needed sun and moon Energies for that, so I pulled those over and got to work. This was the hard part. The good news was that once I got that first connection built, Asch's spirit wouldn't dissipate on me.

Bad news, your spirit in anchored by the sun and moon Energies within your Energy Core, and a connection has to be made to each and every one of them. This was why it was never good to have two people connected to a single Energy Core, either. The added stress was only half of the problem when your spirit needed to be connected like this. And yes, those connections would break and reform, because that was completely natural and needed to happen, but...

I sighed as the exhaustion started bearing down on me. I was only half finished, but...

My head jerked up as I felt a connection snap into place of its own accord, followed by another, and another... I grinned. Now that I had gotten a good deal of the work done, Asch's spirit (without him consciously realizing it) was re-connecting itself.

Actually, I realized with a start, so was mine. I had shoved about half of my spirit's connections to the side so that I could make room for Asch.

"Something wrong?" Sync asked worriedly. I shook my head and stood, only to stumble and fall backwards. Sync ran over in an attempt to catch me, but not quite fast enough. "You sure about that?" he inquired.

I chuckled humorlessly. "In regards to Asch... well, he'll probably be awake before me. In regards to myself..." I trailed off.

"What do you think you're doing in here?!"

Son-of-a-bitch!

Adrenaline washed away most of the fatigue of putting Asch's spirit back as I realized that yes, Van and Legretta were standing in the doorway. Well actually, just inside the doorway. I stood and moved away from Asch's bed as Van stepped between me and him. Legretta moved slightly as well, nudging the door to close it slightly.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Legretta asked. "You're the one Asch arrested a week ago." I sighed and gave Sync a look.

"No rest for the weary, huh?" I muttered. Then I sighed. "Okay, I think I've overstayed my welcome. Enjoy your afternoon, gentlemen, Legretta," I said, making a break for the door and managing to slip through as the blonde God-General made a move for me.

Sync's door was wide open, and I grinned. Too easy.

I didn't bother to close the door behind me as I ran through. I had seen the window earlier, and I'd taken the time to open it before we had gone into Asch's room. I barely even bothered to look as I jumped out, catching branches carefully to slow my fall.

'Glyph in the center of the courtyard, glyph in the center of the--Ah ha!'

I grinned and ran over onto it, hoping it would activate on its own like the one earlier had. Thankfully it did, and I looked directly to my left when it dropped me somewhere else in the cathedral. Right there was another fonic glyph, and, keeping Asch's instructions in mind, I stepped onto it.

You know in the game, that room with the five glyphs? The center one goes to Ion's room? Yeah, there are those central five, and then another dozen or so around the outside edge that aren't in the game.

'No wonder I could never find the God-Generals' rooms in the game...' I mused to myself as I took off running. A few people stared, but hey, what did I care? I just needed to get...

"Whoa, shit!"

"Hey, careful there!"

I looked up at the man who had caught me and smiled thankfully even as my vision continued swimming. No, I wasn't exactly pleased about who had stopped me from falling down the steps, but I really was grateful. "Are you okay, miss?" Largo asked. I blinked a couple of times and stood carefully.

"I have to get to the inn... Sorry for running... Thanks for catching me!" I blabbered out, half thinking out loud, half actually talking to him, before I took off back down the stairs, this time keeping a hand on the guard rails and hoping I could make it to the inn before I collapsed. And hoping that Legretta and Van wouldn't find me while I was out.

*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*

I blinked twice.

'Where the fuck am I...?'

Then it hit me.

'Oh, shit...'

Then the entire reason for being at the inn came back.

'Oh... Son-of-a...!'

That one had me scrambling to get out of the bed. True, I took the time to straighten it up before I left the room, but I was gone as quickly as I could be. I remembered--barely, though, I'd cut it pretty close--that I had paid for one night when I had come in, and as I walked out, I smiled. It was very early morning, according to the clock on the wall.

"You're up early, considering the fact that when I came in to check on you an hour after you stumbled into the inn, you were out like a light," the woman behind the counter said. I turned and smiled at her.

"Eh, I'm always up this early, unless I'm sick. I was just exhausted last night," I told her before waving and leaving. "Now then, I have a ferry to catch," I excused myself.

Daath was very quiet, and I couldn't help but look up at the cathedral. Asch and Sync were still up there... I hoped that Asch was doing alright now that his spirit was back where it belonged, and Sync...

I cringed. "Boy do I hope that kid didn't get in too much trouble for helping me," I muttered as I started toward Fourth Monument Hill. Asch had mentioned wanting to come with me, but...

I frowned. I had to leave the continent _today_ , but I suppose I could sit and wait under one of the trees up there for a while. That way I'd be able to see anyone walking out of Daath. If one of the God-Generals (other than Asch or Sync, of course) came, I could run like hell. If Asch came... well, there would be a distinct lack of running.

Then I pulled out my sketchbook, itching to draw something, anything, and settling on the butterfly that had just sat down to rest its wings right next to me.

I was idly drawing in the grass around it (okay, more like making random lines that were supposed to be grass) when the voice startled me out of my thoughts.

"You know, you're lucky I got out here before Van did."

I looked up at Asch in shock. I'd been so absorbed in the butterfly that I hadn't even realized he was there. Then I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side, pointedly looking around Asch to the masked, green-haired boy that looked... well, not happy.

Sync sighed. "Van's pissed at me for not telling him what happened with you in the dungeons sooner. It's bad enough he already had comatose Asch, enraged Mohs, and a probably-furious assassin on his hands, and then to find out that I knew what had happened all along..." he trailed off bitterly. I cringed.

"Sorry," I apologized as I slipped my sketchbook back into my wing pack before standing. "So, now what?"

Asch crossed his arms. "Sync used the excuse of keeping an eye on me when I told Van I wanted to go for a walk so that he could get out of the cathedral for a bit," he said sheepishly. I cringed again.

"Ouch... Van is really _not_ going to be happy with you, Sync," I stated. He looked like he shared my sentiments, and I sighed and looked over Asch as an excuse to look anywhere but him. I'm sure you could probably have figured it out on your own, but he certainly wasn't wearing his uniform, though I was definitely surprised at how simple the clothing he was currently wearing was.

A black short-sleeved and red-trimmed coat took the place of his tabard over a gray, long-sleeved turtleneck and simple blue jeans (which I was surprised to see, to be honest). A black belt and simple gray boots had finished the outfit off.

"Yeah, I know," Sync grumbled, breaking me out of my thoughts. I crossed my arms and looked at Asch.

"So... I've got to get to Grand Chokmah at some point, hopefully before the month is out, and then I'd like to make a jump from there to Keterburg," I informed him. "Anything you want to throw in?"

Asch looked thoughtful. "No Belkend, and definitely no Baticul," he stated. "Beyond that... well, I'm open to ideas."

Sync looked over his shoulder from where he was... well, I'll say pouting, since that's the best way to put it, but anyway... He looked over and hummed thoughtfully.

"The next ferry to Grand Chokmah doesn't leave until Sylphday, but if you can catch one to Chesedonia, you might be able to catch one from there," he suggested. I frowned.

"If we're going through Chesedonia, we might as well drop into Kaitzur and head up the old fashioned way. Maybe even see if anything I left down there is still... well, there," I muttered, randomly putting in a bit of my fake past. "Though the chances of that are about one in a million."

Asch shrugged, then looked over his shoulder worriedly. "Well, we can make up our minds once we know what ferries are leaving when to go where, because Largo's headed this way and by now it's probably safe to assume that Van sent him after you," he stated. I cringed.

"Yup, time to go," I agreed before turning and running off. Two surprised cries told me that neither Asch nor Sync had expected that move.

At that point, I didn't especially care.

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** Huh. It just hit me... that Largo might have been trying to warn me for a long while of what he was going to do._

_O.o_

_Don't mind me, I'm just the scribe._


	20. Chapter 4.2 - Running from Daath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 of 14  
> ...Remind me again why I torture myself like this?  
> ...Oh, right. I want to start posting new stuff soon.
> 
> (Also, the name 'Dante' usually has a tick over the 'e', but my copy-paste killed that formatting, and I can't be bothered to fight with it at the moment.)  
> I think this'll be the end for the night. Want to go write...

_"Let me think about that a second... Uh, no." -Kairi_

* * *

**?'s POV**

I frowned and squinted as we stepped out of the cave. It wasn't that much brighter, really, but it _was_ brighter under the trees than it had been in the almost-pitch-black network of caves. Though, I suppose I shouldn't complain. At least my companions had given up arguing.

"I'm telling you, we should have gone down the next one!"

I heaved a sigh. Maybe I shouldn't have thought that...

"Nope, this was the right tunnel. See, look! There's the bridge over there."

I ran a hand through my bangs, wondering how it was possible that I was actually the youngest of the three of us.

"But we wanted to come out on the other side of the river, Dante! This is the east side, not the west!"

I heard Dante scoff. "The next tunnel opens up in Aramis Spring, and that's too far," he argued.

"There's one that opens up not two hundred yards on the other side of the river, though... I thought that was the next one..." the lone female of our group said. I groaned.

"If you wanted that tunnel we'd have had to turn off to the right almost half an hour past this tunnel, deal with it going under the main path, and then backtrack another half an hour," I told her. "And frankly, Star, I didn't feel like walking that long when it was easier to just take this tunnel and then cross the river the old fashioned way if necessary."

Dante looked smug. "See?" he taunted.

Star growled, a shockingly feral sound that I guess she picked up from her old friend. Deciding that a fight between them was the last thing I needed, I put one hand on Star's head--the poor girl's three years older than me and six inches shorter--and the other on Dante's chest and pushed them apart.

"Enough. I am _sick_ of listening to you two. Now we came out here for a reason, and we're going to do this right the first time, got it?" I grumbled, looking at both of them. Star nodded instantly, a habit ingrained in her from years of standing by my side not as an equal, but a servant (though that was no longer the case). Dante grumbled something, but nodded to me, even if I was a good inch and a half shorter than him.

I huffed in frustration and ran a hand through my bangs before flipping the braid that had somehow gotten over my shoulder again back where it belonged.

Star brushed her own gold-streaked silver curls out of her face before looking up at Dante, and the child-like look to her face made it hard to believe she was the oldest of us. "So, Asch said she'd be coming through here on her way to the bay. Are we out of sight of the road? I don't want her to see us, let alone you," she stated, looking directly at me. "She'll figure out who you are, Zion, we both know that."

I shrugged and pulled my hood up. "Ta-daa..." I muttered sarcastically, turning to watch the road. Dante huffed.

"How the hell are we even gonna know it's her?" he grumbled. Star frowned thoughtfully, while I just smirked.

"She knows your replica, so she might just mistake you for him," I told him. Dante's expression darkened.

"That piece of trash is still alive... I'm going to gut the damn thing, and I'm sure Kallig would love the chance to do the same to its pet," he hissed. Star sighed.

"And we've lost him to replica-hatred," she mumbled, standing on the other side of the tree I was leaning my shoulder against. I shrugged.

"You did it back in Daath, give him his moment," I told her. She gave me a look, her sapphire-blue eyes glittering mischievously.

"Yeah, but you let him run off to try and kill Dark," she argued playfully.

I smirked and was about to reply when movement caught my eye.

Three teens walked along down the road, two of which I recognized instantly, and one of them not for a positive reason.

"What the hell are Asch and that replica doing with that girl?" Dante hissed. I frowned and watched as the girl in question made a comment, cringed, and then gave the green-haired boy next to her an apologetic look before saying something else. Now, I know I'm not the best at reading people's lips, but I'm fairly certain that her comment was something along the lines of 'I don't usually pray, but I think you're gonna need it.'

If that was truly the case, then the girl was right, because even from this side of the tree, I could feel Star positively simmering in hatred.

"What are we going to do?" she asked as calmly as she could. I pushed away from the tree and adjusted my hood so that I was certain it was hiding my face. Then I took a deep breath and stepped out of the trees. Of course, Star, ever loyal, followed me without a word, while Dante muttered something unintelligible and walked along with us, hood up like me.

The green-haired boy stopped and pointed the three of us out, and the blonde girl watched us suspiciously. Asch, likewise, had a hand resting on his sword hilt.

I frowned as I felt something brushing against my mind. I poked at it and got a feeling of shock from it before it retreated. That shock was echoed in the blonde girl's face. So, some kind of special ability, huh?

"Who are you?" Asch demanded. I scowled.

"None of your business," I replied bluntly before turning to look at the girl with him. "Now then... You're going to have to come with us."

Her eyes narrowed. "Let me think about that a second..." she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Uh, no."

I opened my mouth to speak, but paused when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. It turned out to just be Dante.

And, judging from the shocked look on the girl's face when he lowered his hood, she was definitely the one we were after.

"Dark...?" she whispered, seemingly confused. Then her eyes widened in understanding, and she raised her bow, one arrow nocked and two more tucked next to the bow in the hand holding said weapon. Hmm, interesting technique. "No, you're not Dark," she said louder, this time with more conviction.

Her companions looked utterly lost, especially when she continued. "Then I'll assume that you're Dante?" she asked.

Dante laughed and drew his guns. "Oh, she's smart, this one," he mocked. I rolled my eyes.

"And here I was hoping to avoid a fight," I muttered. Star growled, and I sighed. "Dante, do us both a favor and don't kill her," I ordered, focusing on the fonons that rested on the top layer of skin on my right forearm.

That comment got Asch and the green-haired boy into defensive positions, while Star pulled the two puppets out of their bag on her back. "Zion..." she half-whined, half-requested. I frowned.

"You deal with Asch," I ordered as a staff materialized. I'd made it pretty obvious who was attacking whom, so of course, chaos broke out as soon as Dante aimed his guns for the blonde.

I jumped back to get around behind Star and then ran for the green-haired boy. I knew that if I didn't, Star would go after him even if I had ordered her otherwise.

I heard Dante start taunting the blonde girl, and I had to smirk at a couple of her comebacks as she danced around his shots, firing a few of her own. Of course, she was obviously less experienced than the rest of us, but the fact that she was dealing with a now-pissed assassin (who could get _very_ sloppy when he was pissed) and her possession of a long-ranged weapon assured (or at least, helped to assure) me that she would survive.

"What the hell is your problem, anyway?!" my own opponent growled as I dodged an attack. I grinned, trying to look more mocking than I felt.

"Well excuse us for trying to be patient," I muttered, flipping the staff around to whack him with it repeatedly and realizing that if I wanted to do any real damage, I'd have to summon the blade.

Nah, just let Dante do his job and then we could all simply retreat.

Of course, now that he was pissed off, he was doing a real _fine_ job of that (note all sarcasm accordingly, please).

I groaned in exasperation when he fired off a whole round and not one shot hit its mark. "Okay, that's it..." I muttered, focusing on what Ryndor had taught me.

It always felt weird to do this, and it drained my strength, but I'd found it an effective way of disabling people. Now then, if I could just...

Ah ha! There they are! The not-exactly-fonons were only partially cooperative with me, so I knew it would take me a while to finish collecting up the ones I would need.

One of Star's puppets flew over and blocked a strike for me, and I shot a grateful smile in her direction before I started focusing again. Now then, how had Ryndor always put it?

" _Imagine a wedge in your mind. They'll form up into that shape, and then force that wedge into your target's body from the side, just below the shoulder, on whichever is their dominant arm."_

I smirked as I felt the not-fonons shape up. So the next step would be to get around to the boy's right side and...

The shocked expression on the blonde girl's face made me pause and lose control of the not-fonons, because that shock was directed straight at me. Could she feel the not-fonons too?

My opponent's attack got my attention back on him as I started gathering them up again. This time, when I had them shaped into a wedge that only I could see (and even then, just barely), I wasted no time in slipping around to his right side and slamming it towards him.

He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground while I smirked triumphantly, only to be knocked to the side as a black and yellow blur sped past me. I realized that my hood had fallen and straightened it, but the shocked expression on the girl's face told me all I needed to know.

She knew about the not-fonons, and she had seen my face.

I cursed and jumped out of the fray as Asch barreled over, slashing through the area where I had been only moments before. I frowned. "Dante, Star, come on," I called, backing away. Star looked at me incredulously, but Dante had a knowing look in his eyes. He had seen my hood slip, too.

"But Zion!" Star protested. I scowled.

"Let's go!" I ordered before turning and running. Dante put his guns away and followed me without complaint, and Star followed him after a while.

Once we were in the relative safety of the trees, I stopped and looked back at the trio. Asch had just put his sword away, while the girl knelt over her unconscious companion. I frowned.

"She knows a lot more than she's letting on," I stated. Dante crossed his arms.

"Will I need to contain her until she's needed?" he asked. I sighed.

"I don't know, Dante. But be ready just in case."

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** So, as I may have mentioned previously, this is the re-write. The original version got about 1/2 of the way through Book 2 before I started the re-write... And since I'd originally been posting as I went... Most of my readers already knew a good part of the plot of Re:ARitA and Re:AST._

_So... most of the foreshadowing here was kinda... not really foreshadowing for veterans._


	21. Chapter 4.3- Running from Daath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go again...

_"You know, I'm not sure if I want to meet your friends, or if I'd rather run for the hills if they're ever in the area." -Asch_

* * *

I scowled and shot off another arrow at Dante. No, it wasn't really helping, but he was really trying my patience. "You should just shut up, you know that?" I grumbled. Dante growled and shot off another round at me, and I barely managed to dodge them.

After learning that Asch's technique got sloppy when he was pissed, I had spent most of this battle mocking the assassin I was fighting. Thankfully, the same applied to him, and...

Wait, are those Energies... moving on their own?

I jumped back and fired off another round of arrows before letting all eight of my spirit Energies enhance my sight. I raised an eyebrow at the bright white lines that now connected the silver- and gold-haired girl to her puppets, then looked around.

I yelped as one of them zipped past me, blocking an attack from Sync for the hooded boy he was fighting. Then I realized where the Energies were going.

"Hey, pay attention to your own battle, bitch!"

I hissed in pain as one of Dante's bullets tore through my upper right arm. That was going to make drawing my bow a nuisance. Then, after firing off another round of arrows and cursing Dante as I moved around him, I glanced back over at Sync's opponent, and my eyes widened in shock.

Was he going to shove that wedge-shaped mass of Energies into Sync's body?!

He turned toward me and I watched at the Energies dissipated. Guess he hadn't expected me to realize that he could manipulate them, too, but it was a good thing that he wasn't going to be able to hit Sync with those Energies, because he definitely would have screwed up Sync's Energy Core if he had.

I cursed and jumped away from Dante, slipping my bow around my torso and unsheathing my sword. My right arm was bleeding heavily, and my fingers were tingly. At this rate, I wouldn't be able to draw the bow back. So, time for Plan B.

I had just managed to get in close enough to Dante to strike when Sync's cry of pain caught my attention. I muttered a few colorful expletives and ran over, knocking the hooded boy to the side in an attempt to get between him and Sync.

I watched the expression on his face shift from triumph to shock, and then my own expression mirrored his.

'It can't be!'

The boy pulled his hood back into place, but he must have known I had seen him, seen who he truly was, impossible as the truth seemed to be.

Asch charged over then, and the boy jumped out of the way, then looked around a moment. "Dante, Star, come on," he called, backing away from where I was knelt over Sync next to the road.

The girl, Star, looked at him as if he had lost his mind, but the look in Dante's eye told me that he knew I had seen his companion's hood slip.

"But Zion!" Star protested. Zion scowled.

"Let's go!" he said, a level of authority around him that, had we been on the same side, even I wouldn't have argued with him. Then he turned and ran toward the forest, Dante and Star on his heels.

I looked down at Sync and blinked. Zion... it just couldn't be possible, could it?

"Is he gonna be okay?" Asch asked. I sighed and looked over the younger teen.

"No major physical wounds, and he's glowing strong enough that I've no doubt he'll live until I can examine him properly," I replied. Then I looked over my shoulder and grimaced. "But, Largo's catching up to us, and I'm worried that Zion might have done something to his Energy Core. We'll have to bring him with us, as far as Chesedonia, at least," I added.

Asch sighed. "The ferry to Chesedonia leaves in an hour. We'll just barely make it, the two of us. How the hell are we supposed to carry him, too?" he asked. I reached into my bag and started rummaging around before pulling out an Apple Gel triumphantly and popping it into my mouth.

Then I pulled Sync onto my back and stood, grinning at Asch. "I am so glad that Rabecah used to have a habit of randomly asking for piggy-back rides," I commented. Asch blinked once before he chuckled and shook his head.

The two of us continued along the path for a while before he spoke. "You know, I'm not sure if I want to meet your friends, or if I'd rather run for the hills if they're ever in the area," he told me. I frowned for a moment and thought on it.

"You should probably run. Now, Sync... Sync could probably survive them. Hell, he and Rabecah would probably spend the entire time trying to figure out who can be the most insulting to the rest of us. Of course... We know how to shut Rabecah up... Might not be such a good idea..." I muttered. Asch chuckled.

"You started on one tangent and then went off into your head. If nothing else, at least I'll have plenty amusement," he commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up," I grumbled before frowning. Then I started running... well, as much as I could with an unconscious 5'5" teen on my back. Asch took off after me, apparently realizing that Largo was starting to catch up.

I had to slow to a walk a while later, but I smirked. "Well, at least now the bay is in sight," I said, panting. Asch nodded.

"How far back is Largo?" he asked. I frowned and reached out.

"Far enough that I can't feel him," I answered. He nodded.

"If the ferry isn't delayed, we'll be gone before he can reach the bay," Asch stated. I shrugged.

"Great, but I really don't want to keep carrying him," I said bluntly. "So let's just hurry up."

Asch chuckled, but once we hit the port, any amusement faded as a frown took the place of his previous smirk. "Wait. If we try to take Sync onboard, unconscious like he is..." he trailed off. I groaned.

"Put your coat on him and put the hood up," I ordered. Asch gave me a look. "I'll try to pass him off as my little brother again, but..." That got Asch to do something, and he took my suggestion, slipping Sync's arms through the coat one at a time before pulling the hood over his head. I frowned. "Pull the hood a little further down and take his mask off. He can yell and scream at me for it later if he wants, but it's a dead giveaway," I added. Asch sighed.

"If he wants to yell and scream, then I'll knock him over the head," he told me, slipping Sync's mask into my wing pack. "Let's go."

I nodded and adjusted Sync's position on my back before we started walking again. Asch was already pulling out the gald he would need to pay for our fare.

"Excuse me? Is this the ferry to Chesedonia?" Asch called to one of the guards at the pier. The man nodded.

"Indeed it is. Got here just in time, didn't you, lad? Hmm... Who's that on your back, miss?" he asked. I smiled.

"He's my little brother. We were attacked on the road, and he's out of it, though he's not injured," I replied. The man got a knowing smile on his face.

"Aye, the monsters can be nasty. It's good for a young lad to have such caring older siblings," he said. Then he looked back at Asch and frowned. "How old are you, lad?"

Asch shot me a look, and I sighed. "He's sixteen, and he's not our brother, just a friend. I'm eighteen, and my brother's fourteen," I said. "Sir, we really do need to catch this ferry," I added. The man blinked and then chuckled.

"Ah, sorry lass. Right up here then, the man on deck will take your fares," he replied. "Apologies for the hold up. And tell your brother to stay out of trouble when he wakes!"

I laughed and headed up the plank after Asch. "I would, but he never listens anyway," I joked, hopping up onto the deck. And, just as Largo's consciousness touched on the edge of my range, the ferry started moving. I turned to Asch and grinned, and he rolled his eyes.

Once we were in a cabin, with Sync tucked into one of the two bottom bunks, I turned to Asch and put my hands on my hips.

"Well, _that_ was an amusing conversation," I stated. Asch raised an eyebrow.

"Are you really eighteen?" he wondered. I shook my head, then frowned as I started doing some quick mental math.

"Will be in about two and a half months," I finally replied. "Oh well... How old are you, anyway?" I asked, though I knew I had been right. Asch's seventeenth birthday wasn't until the end of the year. But, he didn't know I knew that.

"You guessed right. I don't turn seventeen for another four months," he said. I shrugged, then looked over at Sync, then back at him, re-asking my question silently. Asch shrugged. "No idea. I think he's fourteen, though. He was definitely the youngest of us, though with the way Arietta acted you never would have known."

Hmm... So, his birthday was probably a little earlier in the year. Maybe I should start writing birthdays down in my journal so I didn't forget them...

Shit!

I scrambled over to where I had dropped my bags and started sorting through them, looking for something I had hidden when Asch and I had been stuck in a body together.

I pulled the small green book out of my bags and held it up like I'd found the greatest treasure in the world. "Hello, beautiful! Miss me?" I asked teasingly before grabbing a pen and running over to the table in the middle of the cabin.

Asch was making a face, and I stuck my tongue out at him before I started writing... and writing... and writing... Well, I did have... uh... nine days to write for, today included.

I was about halfway through my scribblings for the day before when Asch finally poked his head over my shoulder and popped off with the question I had been half-expecting for the last... oh, half hour. Wow.

"What in the world...? Are you writing in code?" he wondered. I gave him a pointed look.

"Yes, because I know there are some people in this world that like to stick their noses into places that said organs do not belong," I told him. Asch's expression shifted into that of a kid who's gotten his hand caught in the cookie jar again before he stepped away.

"Right... Just wondering..." he excused himself. I laughed and went back to writing. With only a day and a half to do, it wouldn't take me too long now, would it?

Fifteen minutes later, after a lot of speculating over the identity of the boy who had been fighting Sync, I gave up and closed the journal, slipping it and the pen back into my bags and then wandering over to the bunk across from Sync's to sleep. It had been a long day, and I was very tired.

I reminded myself that I needed to check over Sync in the morning before I fell asleep.

* * *

 **_Fun Fact:_ ** _...I think Kairi lost her journal somewhere along the line._

_Then again, I don't blame her. I can't keep a journal to save my life._


	22. Chapter 4.4- Running from Daath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -randomly singing along to whatever happens to be playing in her iTunes at the moment-
> 
> (Don't mind the Star Wars reference. To be honest, I'd actually forgotten it was in here. It has its purpose, though.)

_"But anyway, at one point near the end of the battle, Obi-Wan is standing on the shore of a river, and Anakin is on a raft below, and Obi-Wan shouts to Anakin, 'It's over! I have the high ground.' But what made that worse... Anakin's son is named Luke." -Kairi_

* * *

"Icicle Rain!"

"You know, I'm fairly certain that's not supposed to have a pink tinge to it. And I would know, seeing as how I use that arte pretty regularly."

I turned around and stuck out my tongue at Asch before settling into a casting stance again. "O demonic gate, burn to ashes! Sapphire Riot!" I chanted, letting it loose on the deck. Asch frowned.

"And that... looked an awful lot like Crimson Ri...ot..." he commented, hesitating halfway through 'riot'. I smirked.

"That's because, originally, it was. Except, all of my artes end up off-color, so rather than calling it Crimson Riot, I changed it to Sapphire Riot, because it's blue," I told him. He crossed his arms and leaned against the deck.

"I thought you had something against using fonons?" he said. I shook my head.

"No, I just didn't want to risk using any artes while you were anchored to my Energy Core," I replied. "Which reminds me... If you're still willing to teach me a couple strike artes, I'm still willing to learn."

Asch chuckled at that one. "Wow. Considering how forgetful I know you tend to get, I'm actually a little surprised you remembered that," he admitted. I shrugged and stalked over to a straw-filled dummy that someone had left on the deck (probably for people like me, who like to fill their spare time by training). My sword, bow, and quiver were laying innocently next to it.

"I was actually planning on getting some target practice in and then asking you if you wanted to spar, but at this point, I don't especially care. I've got a day and a half to fill, so... You gonna help?" I told him. He smirked and drew his sword, charging at me and barely giving me a chance to draw and raise my own sword in a block. I chuckled darkly. "Challenge accepted."

Then I jumped back and took just a second to look around us. I knew Asch wasn't going to give me a lot of time, so once I'd scanned my surroundings, I ducked under his blade and elbowed him in the back before running over to a stack of crates and jumping up. Looking down at Asch, a line from a movie popped into my head, and I couldn't help but laugh (the scene in question wasn't all that funny, though part of the reference was).

"What's so amusing?" Asch asked, standing ready to defend himself. I shook my head.

"I'll tell you later if I don't forget," I told him before launching myself off of the crates and slashing as his side. He stepped away, only for one of his feet to find mine, causing him to stumble as I grabbed his sword arm and forced it away. Unfortunately, this left my own sword in my right hand.

"Oh, that's gonna end well," Asch commented jokingly, realizing where my weapon was. I laughed and raised my sword, intending to hold it up next to his neck in a mock kill strike, but he dropped his own sword and slipped his hand out of my grip. Not wanting to get stabbed, I jumped back away from him, only to scowl as he took the position on the crates.

"What, are we playing 'King of the Crates' now?" I asked, sarcasm dripping from my voice. Asch smirked.

"Looks like it," he replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, now you've done it," I warned before grinning and charging (yes, rather recklessly) at the crates. Asch made a face before dodging the sword I threw at him.

"Are you crazy?!" he shouted, before turning to see me standing on the crates triumphantly, sword resting on my shoulder. Then he rolled his eyes. "Okay, scratch that. That was a stupid question," he amended. I laughed and jumped down, swinging my blade toward him as he moved out of the way.

"So... about teaching me artes..." I hinted. Asch chuckled, amused by my antics if nothing else.

"Right... Hmm... I don't think Fang Blade would work well with your fighting style, seeing as how you use a pretty hit-and-run technique, but... I think Havok Strike and Raging Blast would be good," he commented, more to himself than anything else. I frowned, remembering the first time I found out that artes were even possible for me.

"You wouldn't know how to use Demon Fang, would you?" I wondered. Asch raised an eyebrow before looking thoughtful.

"I know Demon Fist. The only real difference is that Demon Fang is using the sword as a medium, instead of your hand," he replied. "I'm sure we can figure it out. But that would be another good one for your style..."

I smirked. "Let's just stick to three for now? I've only got two fonic artes at the moment, anyway," I told him. He rolled his eyes somewhat-playfully and waved me over.

"Come on," he grumbled. Then he crossed his arms, sword back in its sheath for the time being. "Demon Fang is one of the easiest strike artes out there, next to Fang Blade. That sounds like a good place to start, especially since it's the one we're going to have to do a bit of guesswork on..."

I nodded. "I've done it on accident before. Don't ask how that's possible, because I'm not even sure _I_ know, but..." I trailed off. Asch blinked, seemingly caught somewhere between wondering whether to take me seriously or just pretending I hadn't said anything.

"Anyway... You're focusing fonons, it doesn't matter what type, really, into your blade. When you swing, you're kinda throwing the fonons out along that line. Now, I know that Demon Fist doesn't require contact with the ground, for obvious reasons, but I'm fairly certain that Demon Fang does," he explained. I nodded.

"Um... It may not be the same, but could you use Demon Fist?" I asked. Asch nodded and complied, and I watched carefully, making good use of all eight spirit Energies I was carrying around. I looked over at the dummy he had aimed at before using what I had seen and been told, as well as my limited memory of the first time I had done this, to attempt to semi-replicate it.

All of my worrying was for naught, however, as the fonons knew what they were doing. Business as usual, I suppose. I smirked as the arrow-shaped shockwave ran along the deck to hit the training dummy. Asch nodded in approval.

"Nice. Not many people can get it on their first try," he told me. "You want to practice a bit with that first, or..."

I crossed my arms. "Havok Strike and Raging Blast, right? Let me learn those two first, then we can have another round of sparring," I suggested. Asch nodded.

"Yeah, that's probably best," he agreed. "In that case, we should probably work with Havok Strike first." I nodded, while Asch was quiet for a while. He was probably thinking about Van. It wouldn't have surprised me, the man was his sword instructor, after all.

I looked around while Asch was thinking, and I didn't completely waste the time, choosing to hack and slash at the practice dummy for a moment.

But then it was time to work again. It took us a while, but Asch finally managed to teach me both Havok Strike and Raging Blast. It was well into the afternoon by the time we stopped. "So, you want me to tell you a bit of a story now?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"About what?" he wondered. I shrugged and sheathed my sword, sitting down on the crate.

"Basically just the line that popped into my head earlier. And actually, I'm not gonna tell you the entire story, because that would take... days," I replied. Asch looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged.

"We don't have much else to do, so why not?" he agreed. I chuckled.

"Okay, so anyway, there were these two men, Anakin and Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was Anakin's mentor. However, Anakin was desperate to save his wife, Padme, and he abandoned Obi-Wan's teachings. Yoda, who had instructed Obi-Wan, ordered him to go after his errant former apprentice and kill him," I started. Asch was either completely lost in the story already, or he was noticing all the little similarities to his own life that I had already noticed.

"Did he succeed?" Asch asked after a moment. I shook my head with a sigh.

"No. But anyway, at one point near the end of the battle, Obi-Wan is standing on the shore of a river, and Anakin is on a raft below, and Obi-Wan shouts to Anakin, 'It's over! I have the high ground.' But what made that worse... Anakin's son is named Luke," I replied.

I wasn't sure if Asch was contemplating killing me or if he was amused... Because his face was completely blank.

Then he groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Wow, Kairi," he grumbled. Then he looked back up at me. "So... Any chance I could hear the whole story sometime?" he wondered. "It sounded interesting."

I shrugged. "Sure, but I'll have to do some major breaking-up of the already broken-up parts," I told him. "There are six parts that I know by memory, plus a whole bunch of others."

"Fine, but I'm holding you to that," he told me. I laughed and stood. "By the way... Sync still wasn't awake when I left the cabin."

I froze. "Eh, shit. I forgot to check on him this morning," I grumbled before grabbing my stuff and heading down to the cabin. It was a little after noon, so there was plenty of light coming through the windows as well as coming from the fonstones that were scattered around.

I walked over to where Sync was laying in bed without his mask. Apparently Asch either hadn't found it strange that I wasn't surprised that Sync was a replica (or at least very much identical to Ion), or he just hadn't really paid attention.

I didn't much care at that very moment, as I was too busy sitting on the floor and slipping onto the second plane. I vaguely registered Asch doing the same next to me before I was there.

Then I was freaking out, because Sync's Energy Core, which should have been glowing strong and steady, was flickering erratically.

*Shit, shit, shit, shit...* I cursed, pulling together Energies as fast as a could without losing them. *Uh, uh... Oh, what am I gonna need...?*

*Uh, is his Energy Core supposed to be flickering like that?* Asch asked, finally joining me. I shot him a look, and he chuckled nervously. *Guess not. What do you need?*

I took a deep breath to calm myself. *Um... That's what I'm trying to figure out. I've never had to re-stabilize another person's Energy Core before. Sun and moon are no-brainers, you need those for everything. We'll need earth Energies for stability, but if we use just those, the Energy flow will go too slowly and his Energies will start dying off,* I rambled.

Asch pointed to a spot of Sync's Energy Core. *What's with those little black spots?* he asked. I frowned and glanced down at them before I went back to gathering up Energies.

*Those are dead Energies. I'll have to figure out what they are later so I can knock them loose,* I stated. *Um...*

*Water,* Asch said. I looked over at him, and he shrugged. *Water flows, right? And it's less erratic than wind, which would probably not help right now, all things considered. So... Water?*

I smiled. *That should work. Thanks, Asch,* I replied, pulling together some water Energies as well. Then I pulled the mass over so I could start using it. I took a moment to watch the Energies flowing through Sync's Core.

Then I started pushing the Energies in, gently, from below his left shoulder, where they were exiting way too quickly. I was only about a third of the way when the wave of dizziness washed over me and the Energies dispersed. I stumbled back and fell to the ground.

*Kairi?!*

I shook my head. *I'll be fine Asch, but you're going to have to finish it. Quickly, or what I've already done will be gone,* I told him. He nodded and started pulling Energies in. I nudged as many toward him as I could to make it easier.

Once he had enough, he looked over his shoulder at me, and I pointed at the retreating line of the steady glow. *Start there, slow and gentle. Just nudge them towards it,* I instructed. Asch was uncomfortable, that much was obvious, but I couldn't do it at that point, and he was the only other one with us.

More than once I had to remind him to be 'slow and gentle', but he got the job done, and I heaved a sigh of relief. *When we wake up in the morning, make sure not to let me forget to check him again,* I muttered before slipping into my body.

I watched Asch open his eyes before standing and stumbling, and I barely managed to catch him. "Come on, take my bunk for tonight. I can sleep above," I prompted. Asch didn't even argue as I dumped him on the other bottom bunk before climbing up above him. I vaguely registered that I hadn't written a journal entry today before I fell asleep.

**** _****_

* * *

_**Fun Fact:** Kairi mentions here that she's never restabilized another person's Energy Core before. This doesn't means she's never stabilized an Energy Core, though. Her panicking is brought on primarily by the fact that she realized her negligence._


End file.
